


When A Window Opens.

by Aldyce



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Best Friends, Denial, F/F, Friendship, Grief, Homophobic Language, M/M, Minor Character Death, Simon and Alec are just friends, Simon and Magnus are just friends, malec is coming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-06-24 04:26:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19716178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aldyce/pseuds/Aldyce
Summary: “I read the other day that when a door closes, a window opens... It reminded me of us meeting.” Simon continued to stare at the sky as he spoke but turned his head when he heard his friend chuckle.“I’m pretty sure the actual saying is: When one door opens, another door opens. But I think I prefer your version. I’m glad we met when we did. Thank you for being in that park that afternoon and for being my friend.”Simon as had to go through a lot but when he meets Magnus, he finally finds a friend.Little do the pair know just how much they have to thank for a chance meeting at a busy park.





	1. Silence Says It All

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing fanfic so I hope you enjoy it.  
> If you are someone that likes to tweet along, use the #OWFic I'd love to see any posts about it!
> 
> Thank you to Allie_enigma, Nephilim_Becca and sasha_pechova for all the help and support, couldn't of done it without you guys.
> 
> The title of the chapter comes from the song Silence says it all by Caroline Pennel. The song has not been released but was used in Shadowhunters, Episode 10 Season 3, Erchomai in the final scene between Simon and his mother.

The day had been a blur. The steps he followed were anchored in tradition, but he moved and spoke in a haze. Simon Lewis knew the symbolism of the black ribbon that his childhood rabbi cut to start the service. He knew the words the rabbi spoke, but as he stepped forward to throw the first handful of dirt on to his father’s coffin, a symbol of his acceptance of the passing of his father, he couldn’t move. Because he hadn’t accepted it. He couldn't.  
Only two days ago, his father was hugging him and telling him to be good for his mum, before heading off for a business trip.  
His sister, Rebecca, stepped up next to him, breaking him free from his thoughts, and together, they dropped their handfuls of dirt, sending their father to the next stage of his life. The two siblings stepped back and watched as their mother stepped up to drop her handful of dirt and step back herself. The blank, dead, look that hadn’t left her eyes since that terrible, fateful, call from the police, announcing her husband had been involved in a car accident during the night, and had died on impact, still firmly in place.  
The following seven days of Shiva passed in a similar haze. He hugged his sister as she cried, and watched as his mother sat silently is his father’s armchair. But he couldn’t bring himself to cry or mourn his father’s passing. After all how could the fun, loud man he had known and loved his whole life, the man he had played catch with for hours on end in their small backyard, the man who listened with interest as his sister told story after story of warlocks, vampires and angels, the man who would kiss his mother every morning before leaving for work, now be nothing more than a body in a plain, wooden coffin, trapped under the earth?  
Shiva ended and the family of three went back to their lives with one big part missing.  
Simon broke down on a Tuesday. Two weeks after the funeral. When a girl in the school yard asked him ‘what it was like to not have a dad anymore?’ But Becky was there as soon as he got home, and they hugged, and talked about their dad, about how much they loved and missed him, and they held each other as they cried.  
As the weeks passed, and brother and sister helped each other deal with their new reality, they soon realised that Elaine didn’t seem to have accepted the death of her husband and was living in deep denial.  
This realisation came shortly after Simon’s break down. Since the funeral, Elaine had been quiet, and had gone back to work as soon as Shiva had ended. When they asked how she was doing, she hugged her children and told them everything was okay, so they tried to give her space to grieve and heal with time. Elaine worked longer hours, started drinking a glass of wine, or two, with her dinner. On the odd nights she was home to eat with her children, she seemed to withdraw from Simon and Rebecca.  
Over the next two weeks, her two children watched as Elaine seemed to be sinking deeper into her own mind, and into alcohol. It started with a glass of wine at dinner, although it had never been a habit of hers (it was just a glass after all) so the kids didn’t worry. But as Elaine started coming home later ,and later, and after one particularly loud night where she seemed to bump into quite a lot of items of her way from the front door to her room, Becky and Simon got together to discuss the situation and decided to alternate nights to stay up and wait for their mother to come home.  
A week after their agreement was reached, it was Simon’s night to stay up and make sure his mother got to bed safely. Simon looked up from his book, when he heard the car pull up in the driveway, and looked at the clock on the wall. It was earlier than usual. Only eleven. But Simon’s smile quickly disappeared when Elaine tripped on the door coming in and caught herself with the wall, to avoid falling, and giggled to herself on the way to the kitchen, apparently not having seen her son standing in the living room with tears in his eyes.  
He silently followed her into the kitchen, where she was pouring herself a glass of wine from the bottle in the fridge.  
“Hey, Mom, you okay?”, Simon asked when she turned and saw him. A big smile appearing on her face.  
“Oh, Baby, what are you doing up? Isn’t it past your bedtime?” Elaine reached for him, to pull him into a hug, but tripped on her bag lying on the floor, and fell. Her glass breaking and a shard of glass cutting her hand.  
As she sat on the floor, crying, holding her bleeding hand out to Simon, he reached down and helped her up, with silent tears running down his face. As he guided her to the bathroom to clean and check her hand, Elaine allowed herself to be lead, and sat on the toilet seat, as she watched in silence. Simon got the first aid kit out and cleaned the shallow cut. There wasn’t any glass in the cut, so he disinfected it and bandaged her hand, relieved that his mother hadn’t seriously hurt herself, and suddenly feeling exhausted, Simon lead his mother to the room she used to share with his father and tucked her into bed.  
Simon then headed back to the kitchen, to clean the mess of broken glass and blood. Once he was done, the clock read one O’clock and could finally walk to his room and allow the tears he had been holding back for the last two hours to roll down his face. The loss of his father had broken him, but he could survive it with Becky by his side. She would help him carry the pain, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to survive the loss of his mother as well.  
The next morning, Becky listened to Simon’s account of last nights events in a stunned silence. They knew that their mother was slipping away from them in her grief, but they couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, so as they clung to each other for strength, they agreed to confront their mother about her drinking that night. 

The two siblings froze, as they heard the car pull up in the driveway. It was a quarter to one in the morning. They had planned what they were going to say, but they still dreaded the conversation to come.  
Simon gave his sister a quick hug and stepped back. They had agreed on this. Becky was older, she would talk first.  
The door opened. Elaine stumbled into the house, but straightened as soon as she saw her two children standing in front of her. She watched them through narrow eyes, as Becky took a deep breath and started talking.  
“Mom, we need to talk. Simon and I are worried about you. We know that you miss Dad, it is hard for all of us. But you have to talk to us and let us help you.”  
As he saw his sister struggle to stay calm, Simon stepped up next to her, gave her hand a squeeze and said: “We are both here for you, Mom. Please let us in.”  
Elaine stood in silence with an odd look on her face. Becky and Simon could tell she was drunk off her ass, from the way she swayed lighty where she stood. But when she reached forwards and pulled them both into a hug, they thought they had gotten through to her. The words that she spoke immediately after stopped that thought.  
With shining eyes, Elaine stepped back from her children with a bewildered expression.  
“Oh, my babies, it’s okay, you don’t have to worry about anything. You know I miss your father when he’s away for work, but it will only be a couple more days until he’s back and everything will be back to normal.”  
As the words slowly sank in, Becky started shaking, and turned, and ran to her room, from where Simon could still hear her sobs. Elaine turned to Simon.  
“What’s wrong, Monkey? Why did your sister leave? Are you okay? You look pale. You really should go to bed earlier.”  
Simon just looked at her. This wasn’t possible. This couldn’t be happening? Right? His mom was just greving. And drunk. In the morning, she wouldn’t remember what she had said, and it would all be okay. She had to know that their dad was dead. She was at the funeral. Of course, she knew. She was just hurting. Right?  
Elaine walked past him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, and went into her room, singing as she went. As if on autopilot, Simon turned and followed her down the corridor, and into his room, closing the door and laying down on his bed.  
Sleep didn’t find the boy that night, but as he watched the sun slowly light up his room, he knew that he and Becky would have to do something about their mother. And judging by Becky’s reaction last night, it would be on Simon.  
Although a part of him wanted to deny what happened and blame his mother’s inebriated state, or his tired brain for mishearing, he knew deep down that their mother had spoken her true feelings and he had to talk to her before she left for work, and could get her hands on more alcohol.  
It was with a determined but sad look in his eyes, sitting at the kitchen table with two hot cups of coffee in front of him, that Elaine found her son that morning when she stepped out of her room. Her makeup on and barriers up. Ready for a day lying for her clients. She took the offered cup with a smile and sat by her son to check on him. He had been so distant lately, and he looked so pale. Almost unhealthy.  
Although before she could get her question about his general wellbeing out, Simon spoke up in a steady and controlled voice.  
“Good morning, Mom. Did you sleep well..?”  
“Of course, Monkey. But why are up so early? I love seeing you before work, but you don’t have school for hours. Are you okay? You don’t look okay.” She interrupted him, taking his hand in hers, and giving it a squeeze.  
Simon returned the squeeze and prepared himself for what he knew he had to say,  
“Yeah, Mom. I’m fine. Don’t worry. It’s you I wanted to talk about…”  
“Me? Why do you want to talk about me?”  
“Mom, please just let me say what I have to say without interrupting, okay?” Elaine looked at him, clearly confused, but nodded and waited for him to continue.  
“Okay, thank you, Mom. I wanted to talk to you about Dad and how you have been dealing with everything lately…”  
“Your dad? What about your dad? I told you last night. Just because I miss him when he’s away for work, it doesn’t mean you need to worry like this. You’re just a kid, Monkey. You don’t have to take care of me. That’s my job.” She finished with a smile, as Simon’s heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. He had prepared himself for this eventually, but he had now realised just how unprepared he was for what he had to do next. He was twelve. How could he do this? How could he knowingly shatter his mother’s world? He had just lost his father, he wouldn’t lose his mother as well. Nor would he make his sister do it for it. Sixteen was no better than twelve when it came to telling your mother that her husband was dead. No. He could and would do this. He had to.  
He closed his eyes and counted to three. One. Two. Three. Okay, he was ready. He opened his eyes, taking in his mother confused expression, and took her hand between both of his.  
“Mom? I need you to listen to me. Really listen and wait until I'm done, to react. Okay? Can you do that for me? Please? You need to accept what happened. You need to grieve. There was an accident. He felt no pain, and in his last moments, he thought about how much he’s going to miss you. No matter where he ends up in his next life, he will never stop thinking about you. He will always love you. Levi Lewis is dead.”  
His voice broke, and he could feel the sobbs rising in his chest, but he had to finish. He had to do this.  
“Please, Mom. You need to accept it. Dad is dead, Mom.”


	2. A Light In The Dark.

The birds sang, and the children laughed, but one boy wasn’t enjoying the first day of summer.   
Sat alone on a broken bench at the edge of the busy park, Simon cursed himself for being a coward. For running. He couldn’t stay in that kitchen and watch the pain flood into his mother’s eyes. He knew he was the cause of that pain and that knowledge was tearing him apart. He had done what needed to be done but he just couldn’t escape the fact that his mother’s world was being destroyed because of his words. His choice.  
And so he had ran. Out of the door and didn’t stop until he reached the park on the other side of town. He was twelve. He didn’t know how to deal with the situation he had found himself at the center of.   
From his bench on the edge of the busy park, he could sit quietly. Watch the happy people and pretend to be one of them. He watched the steady journey of the sun through the sky, and the turmoil of the park, slowly, eased his mind.   
As the sun started the final phase of its descent, Simon watched as a lone teenager stood at the opposite side of the park, watching the laughing families much as he had. The boy started walking and Simon looked away, returning his attention to the group of young teens that had taken up residence on the grass not far from his bench.  
He startled as a hand tapped his shoulder and the boy he had seen earlier sat down next to him.  
As Simon studied the new arrival to his bench, he noticed the slight tremor of the boy’s arm, and the beginning of a bruise just showing at the edge of his sleeve. He seemed to be a couple years older than Simon, and since he hadn’t said anything since sitting down, Simon stared straight ahead and waited.  
As the pair sat in silence, Simon felt himself relax and began to feel comfortable in the silence around him. He looked around and realised that evening was settling in, and the park was slowly emptying. Feeling more at peace than he had for a long time, Simon spoke the words that had been running through his mind.  
“I’m a bad person. I hurt my mom today. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I knew what I had to so she could be okay again. Now she hurts and I don’t think I can go home.”  
He stopped talking and turned to the boy, waiting for him to react. He just nodded and waited for Simon to continue.  
“My dad died last month. He was in a car crash. Mom wasn’t appearing to be sad, so I thought she had accepted he was dead. Not really though. So I told her. I told her dad was dead and made her sad. So I’m a bad person.”  
He watched with weary eyes as the boy next to him took a couple of minutes to consider what Simon had told him, and then spoke in a soft and collected voice.  
“It’s okay if your mom is sad. It’s normal for people to be sad when you lose someone you love, that’s how you grieve. If your mom needed help to be able to grieve, you’re not bad for helping her do that. She may hurt now, but one day she won’t hurt quite as much and that will be thanks to you. You helped her and it’s okay if you need help too sometimes.”  
Trying to believe the words he had just heard, Simon turned on the bench to face the boy.  
“I’m Simon.”   
“Magnus” the other boy simply answered before the two went back to staring at the now empty park.   
Magnus watched as Simon processed what he had told him and let out a small smile when the younger boy’s shoulders visibly relaxed.   
Suddenly Magnus stood up, pulling Simon from his thoughts and pulled the boy into a quick hug, before turning and running across the park, and out the exit on the opposite side.  
Simon decided to follow the strange boy’s lead, stood up from his bench, and started his walk home.

Becky and Elaine were passing by the front door. Becky had made her mom promise to wait for another hour before calling the police, but the sun was setting and both women found they couldn’t sit there anymore.  
Within a minute of the door handle turning, a tired but otherwise safe, Simon stepped into the house and found himself wrapped in both his sister’s and mother’s arms.   
“Simon, I know that the past weeks have been very hard for you and your sister, and I am truly sorry about that, but you can’t just disappear for an entire day. I was terrified.”  
Simon curled up in her lap. He was done being strong. He just wanted his mom.  
“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just needed some space and quiet to think. Are you okay? I really am sorry.”  
“It’s okay, Monkey. I know you didn’t mean to scare anyone. You were just hurt and scared. And yes, I’m okay, I promise. Your sister and I have talked about it and I have made some calls. I’m going to see a professional who can hopefully help me understand what I’ve been going through. I’m having a hard time trying to process everything that’s happening and need some time to get my head straight. I’m sorry for everything that happened. I guess when you’re going through something difficult, your mind plays tricks on you and you take it out on the ones closest to you.”

When Simon was finally alone that night, he only had one thought. Sleep. Undressing and throwing his clothes onto his desk chair, he watched as a small folded piece of paper fell from his jacket pocket and onto the ground.  
Unfolding the dirty scrap of paper, he read a phone number on one side, and on the other the note : “If you ever need to talk to someone- Magnus.”  
After reading the note and looking for any more information, Simon remembered Magnus hugging him in the park, before running off. Had he managed to slip the note into his pocket then? Why not just give him his phone number?   
His head was full of questions that he was simply too exhausted to answer. Simon laid down on his bed, and within minutes his sleepless night and highly emotional day caught up to him ,and he fell asleep.

~

The next year was a hard one for the Lewis family. Elaine had good days and bad days with her therapy, but was making progress daily. Becky had been having weekly meetings with the grief counsellor at her school. Simon had also found a support system of his own. 

The first time Simon texted Magnus was on his thirteenth birthday.   
For as long as he could remember, Simon and his dad had gone to a baseball game on his birthday. His mom and sister had been trying to help him and make sure the day was as happy as could be.   
The day had been quiet and passed without any real incident but it was the first major event since Levi’s passing, and had been an emotionally tiring day.  
Excusing himself for bed early, Simon picked up the note he kept in his draw. He had considered texting Magnus several times in the past months, but could never bring himself to do it. Carrying the note, and his phone, to his bed, he sat down and thought back to that day in the park.   
Although they had talked very little, Magnus had listened to him when he needed it and had always found just the right words to help him. Maybe he could do it again. Still hesitant, Simon typed a quick message which he reread several times before sending.

~ Hi, it’s Simon. From the park. ~

He heard the old flip phone he had gotten for his twelfth birthday. It pinged with an incoming text, from where he had hid it under his pillow, after sending the text. He dug the phone out and read the text.

~ Hello Simon. It’s good to hear from you. Are you okay? ~

~ Oh yeah, I’m good thanks. And you? I was wondering if it would be okay to talk about some stuff...? ~

~ I’m good, thank you. Of course, Simon. I told you that you could always talk to me. ~

Simon let out a snort at that. Magnus hadn’t really told him anything, rather than him slipping a mysterious note into his pocket without him noticing. But he wasn’t going to bring that up. 

~ Cool. I just had a weird day I guess. It was my first birthday since my dad died. ~

Simon waited for Magnus to type back a response, but when none came, he continued typing.

~ For as long as I can remember, my dad would take me to a baseball game on my birthday. It was our thing. Time that we could spend, just the two of us. I know my mom and sister were really trying to be there for me, but it kind of just made it worse. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings by asking them to leave me alone. Does that make any sense? Am I being selfish? ~

~ Simon, of course, you are going to miss your dad. Your mother and sister miss him too and they would understand if you talked to them, but I understand that sometimes it’s harder to talk to the people that are closest to us. ~

~ Thank you for listening to me, Magnus. I feel much better now just having said what was on my mind. I think I’m going to go to sleep now. ~

~ It was my pleasure to help, Simon. Good night. ~

~ Good night. ~

~

~ One year previously ~

He would often make a detour ,to walk through the park, on his way home from school. He liked seeing the happy families playing together, and dreaded going home. This day had been different though. Instead of watching for a couple of minutes and leaving, someone had caught his attention.   
At the opposite side of the park from him, Magnus could see a boy, maybe a few years younger than him. He was fourteen, so that would make this boy twelve or thirteen. He was sitting alone on a bench, watching the happy and carefree park goers. This boy however, was far from happy or carefree. Magnus recognised the lost, empty, look in the boys eyes. He had seen that very same look enough times in the mirror not to miss that the boy’s world was crumbling down around him. Before he could realise what he was doing, Magnus had crossed the park and was down on the bench. He sat next to the boy with the sad eyes, tapping him on the shoulder as he did it, so he wouldn’t scare him.   
He didn’t say anything. If he was right about that look, the boy would talk when he wanted to.   
They sat in silence for ten minutes and Magnus watched as the boy visibly relaxed and started talking. Once he had said what had so clearly been weighing him down, the pair went back to staring at the park slowly emptying in front of them. Without turning ,or otherwise alerting the boy, Simon, to his actions, he reached into his pocket where he knew he had a pen and a scrap of paper. He scribbed his phone number and a quick note before suddenly standing up. He reached down and pulled the other boy into a quick hug. He slipped the note into his open jacket pocket before turning away and running out of the park and home. 

Arriving in front of his apartment building, he had to stop to catch his breath. As he waited for the elevator to arrive, and take him up to the fourth floor, his right hand moved to grip his left forearm. He squeezed as he tried to steady his heartbeat. The elevator arrived and he walked in.  
“I’m home, Dad.” he announced, stepping in the front door and immediately making his way for his room.   
A grunt was the only he got from Asmodeus, who’s eyes didn’t move away from the television that he was blankly staring at. The lack of reaction wasn’t unexpected, but it hurt. Truth be told, Magnus couldn’t remember the last time his dad had asked him about his day when he got home. Well actually he did. He remembered every minute of that day. But he couldn’t bear to revisit it right now.   
His fingers tightly wrapped around his arm, he made his way to his room in silence, and flopped down on his bed, wondering if Simon had found the note he had put in his pocket.   
Magnus would love to have a friend he could talk to right now.

~

After their second conversation, on Simon’s birthday, the two boys became fast friends. They didn’t go bowling or hang out after school, but they were always there for each other when they needed it. They became each other’s support system as Simon dealt with his father’s death and his mother’s slow path to acceptance. Magnus slowly opened up about his past and his day to day life.  
The first time he mentioned his home life, was on a sunny day. Three years after their first meeting, Simon had called him after meeting a new friend at school. A new girl had arrived in Simon’s class and the two had immediately clicked. Simon had shown her around town. He had a great day, and had a lot of fun, but as soon as he got home, he couldn’t forget that the third anniversary of his father’s death was coming up and he instantly felt guilty for feeling happy. That and forgetting about his dad while he was out with Clary.  
He had called Magnus who was quick to remind Simon that his father would have wanted to have fun and laugh, as opposed to just feeling sad. And that Simon’s father would be happy that Simon had met a new friend.  
Magnus had hesitated but had told Simon that he was having a hard time getting to school on time lately. Because his dad hadn’t been getting up in the morning to take him.  
Simon knew just how secretive Magnus was about his personal life. From the little pieces of information he had gotten over the years, he had guessed that Magnus’s mother wasn’t in the picture. He had also guessed that Magnus’ dad wasn’t handling it very well, but he was waiting for his friend to feel comfortable enough to share.

~

The years passed, and although the two boys meet new people and made deep bonds with their new friends, they would periodically catch up with each other when they needed to.   
One of these occasions was Magnus’s eighteenth birthday. He had sent a text to his old friend, and they had set a meeting at their usual place. A small cafe at an equal distance between their two houses.   
Magnus arrived early. He was very nervous. He had an important decision to make, and needed his friend’s advice, but first he had to his friend the whole truth.   
He knew he was ready to finally tell Simon about his mother. They had known each other for three years, and it was time for him to trust his friend.  
His arm ached as his fingers dug into the bruises on his arm. Simon had pointed out the bruises to him, a year prior, and he had been trying to break the habit ever since. But it was difficult. Something about the similar movement, and the dull pain, helped him stay in the moment, and not get lost in his memories of that day.  
Magnus looked as the bell on the door rang, and his friend stepped into the shop. Right on time, a true exploit for the younger boy.  
“Hey! Happy birthday, man”, he exclaimed, sitting down opposite him and smiling at the cup of coffee that Magnus had ordered for him.   
His friend’s smile and happy voice finally allowed him to relax. Magnus removed his hand from his arm and placed it flat on the table, earning him another smile from Simon.  
“Hi. Thanks for meeting me. I had some stuff I wanted to talk to you about.”  
Taking one last ,deep breath, Magnus allowed the memories he normally kept locked up to sweep through him. He began telling the story.


	3. Amara.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amara. A beautiful and old name for a unique woman. Amara. An African name meaning ‘grace’. The Italian for ‘bitter’.

~ 23 years ago - Asmodeus’ POV ~ 

Asmodeus would always remember the day he first stepped foot on british soil. The sky was grey, and the rain cold but to him it had been perfect. His young eyes didn’t see an unknown country but rather unlimited opportunity. He was twenty-four and ready to take over the world.  
He had left Indonesia as soon as he could afford the plane ticket.  
After being abandoned in the street at birth, he grew up in an overpopulated orphanage where he had to fight for every scrap he ate and wore.  
At fifteen, he left the orphanage to start working. He took all the jobs he could find, sometimes working up to four at the same time, until after five years of working himself half to death, he had just enough for a plane ticket to London. He was free. 

Asmodeus’ new life may have been a simple one, but it was his and he had never been happier. He had found a job at a small coffee shop and was renting a room in an old widower's apartment. He may have made little, and had little, but he was free and that was all he had ever wanted.  
He also loved his life and job because it was how he had met her. The one true love of his life.  
It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon, three months after Asmodeus had arrived in London. The coffee shop had been quiet all day and Asmodeus was sitting at one of the tables by the window, watching the busy London streets. The bell on the door rang and Asmodeus stood to serve whoever had come in. What he hadn’t been expecting was to be standing face to face with an angel.  
Asmodeus had served attractive customers before, hell, the world was full of beautiful people. But her. She was different, she had an aura of grace and sophistication and yet a smile that promised the most beautiful sin. She was light and darkness. She was the cry of a wolf and the sound of a broken feather hitting the ground. Light and dark, the perfect balance. The perfect woman.  
She stood watching him with a smile, her eyes telling him she could see his heart swell and watched as his world collashed.  
The sun from the window shone on her raven black hair. The gentle waves falling to caress her waist. The contrast with her warm, rich, skin overpowering. Her sharp, defined features clashing and yet perfectly complimented by her deep red lip and the knee long, blood red dress that caressed down her body. She was a vision of perfection, a goddess sent from the sky to bless his very eyes.  
“Hello, hello? Can you hear me?”  
Asmodeus’ eyes shot up. The beautiful woman was watching with an amused gleam in her eyes.  
“Sorry, I’m so sorry. Can I take your order?” he asked refusing to look into the woman’s eyes and risk getting lost in their ice blue depths.  
He took her order and walked away to prepare it, his cheeks now permanently stained a deep red. He had to go about his work as usual, even if his eyes followed her every move.  
He saw when she stood up from her table and made her way up to the counter.  
She stood so close, he could feel the comfort of her blinding presence and yet he knew that he couldn’t afford to look up. He knew he couldn’t afford looking into her eyes, the danger of losing himself was all too great.  
She placed a small and delicate hand on the counter, next to his, and with a brush of a little finger over his, he was lost. As quick as she had come, like a comet in the night, she was gone. In the time Asmodeus closed his eyes to savor her touch and the feel of her silk smooth skin against his own, the mesmerising woman was gone.  
He looked down at his hand, now alone on the cold hard counter, and as the same deep loneliness and despair he had known creeped back tenth fold. She had been the sun and in her absence left only darkness.  
It was at that moment that he noticed her bill laying on the counter. Where her hand had been before. What he noticed most of all was the phone number printed in a twistedly cruel and yet hauntingly beautiful touch, along with one single word. Amara.

Asmodeus often thought back to that day. He had called her that very same evening and arranged to have dinner next week. If Amara’s beauty had hooked him, it was her laugh that made sure he was addicted. The rarest of gifts, Asmodeus vowed that very moment to make it his life purpose to bring out that laugh as often as he could. For as long as she would let him. 

Life with Amara was a whirlwind. She loved being at the center of every occasion and although at first Asmodeus loved the satisfied smile on her face and the feeling of pride at the glares when he walked into any building with Amara on his arm, he soon grew tired of the constant partying and the extreme speed at which Amara lived life.

That night was their first argument. Asmodeus had asked if they could spend some more quiet time alone, to truly get to know each other. Amara had screamed that she would not be controlled by a man and if Asmodeus wanted to continue being with her then he had better remember that. Asmodeus had apologized of course. He had never wanted to control her and loved that she came and went as she pleased, like a bird that was wild and free.  
The months passed and every time that Asmodeus tried to bring the subject up again, he was shut down.  
“Don’t you want to be with me? Don’t you love me?” she had screamed at him in the middle of the crowded restaurant in which they were supposed to be meeting Amara’s friends for a dinner. Celebrating their second anniversary together. Amara’s idea, of course.  
Those first four years with Amara were perfect. She was his sun and he worshipped the ground she stood on. Of course they would fight, especially if Amara wasn’t getting her way ,but the couple would always work on it, or more truthfully, Asmodeus would agree with Amara and give her what she wanted.  
Amara. A beautiful and old name for a unique woman. Amara. An African name meaning ‘grace’. The Italian for ‘bitter’.

The problem came shortly after their fourth anniversary. Asmodeus had long since left his job at the coffee shop and now made a good living as a tech engineer. Because of this, he worked long hours and often stayed home alone while Amara went out with her friends.  
This arrangement resulted in Amara often coming home in the early hours of the morning, drunk or staying over at her friends. 

The night it all changed was a Friday. Asmodeus had been away for work all week but had been allowed to go home a day early. Exhausted after driving all day, he had only one thought. Sleep.  
The universe seemed to have other plans, or rather Amara did. He was too tired to notice the signs as he arrived home that night. But when he stepped into his bedroom, he couldn’t ignore what he was confronted with.  
Amara was in their shared bed but she wasn’t alone. Asmodeus instantly recognized the man currently being straddled by his girlfriend, it was Victor Aldertree, his best friend. They had been introduced the year before by none other than his beautiful girlfriend and had immediately hit it off. 

His mind stayed cold and detached as his world fell apart around him.  
His eyes found Victor first.  
“Leave.” The single word rang clearly though the room, the cold calm restraint chilling the guilty couple to the bones.  
Victor quickly and silently gathered his clothes and made for the door, his eyes never meeting those of the friend he had betrayed.  
Once they were alone, Asmodeus turned his stare to Amara. She didn’t look guilty or startled, but rather curious. She sat, completely naked, her hair a mess and hickeys showing down her neck and breasts. She said nothing, watching Asmodeus with a small smile, head cocked to the side. Her predatory stare fixed on Asmodeus, her cold eyes staring unflinchingly into his.  
“You too. I want you gone.” He finally spoke knowing that any sign of emotion would be manipulated and used against him by the woman he loved. The woman who had been breaking his heart since they had met.  
“Oh honey, you don’t mean that. I’m so sorry I made a mistake. I just missed you. You’re always working, I never get to see you. I was lonely. Surely you understand?”  
Her voice may have been the perfect mix of apology and sadness, but Asmodeus didn’t look away from her eyes and try as she might, there was no emotion in the cold depths of her icy blue eyes.  
“No. I won’t put up with anymore. You need to leave. You can have a couple days to pack up your stuff. I will stay in a hotel, but then I want you out. This is my apartment and you are no longer welcome.”  
His words were final. He loved Amara. Of course he did, she was his sun, his world, but he couldn’t forgive her anymore. It was over and he had to accept that.  
His mind was made up and nothing could change it. Well nothing except the words that followed.  
“Baby, please we need to talk about this. I’m not going anywhere. I’m pregnant.”

~ 3 months later ~ 

“Babe, could you make me some tea?”  
Amara’s voice called through the apartment. Asmodeus was in his office trying to finish an important project when he heard the call.  
He sometimes still wondered if he had made the right decision staying with Amara after her infidelity, but he loved her and had always dreamed of having a family. Besides, Amara had been the perfect girlfriend since that day. Asmodeus had been disappointed when she said she didn’t want to get married but she had agreed to stop going out every other night and to start a happy family with him.  
So they had moved past the mistake and as Amara’s pregnancy had started to show, Asmodeus had never been happier. The doctor had told Amara to take it easy and so Asmodeus was more than happy to get her whatever she needed. Sometimes he just needed to remind himself of that.  
They were starting a family together, their baby was healthy and Asmodeus had never been happier.

~ 12 years ago - Magnus’ POV ~

As shouts echoed around the small house his parents had moved into when he was born, a six year old Magnus hid under his covers. The raised voices hiding the sound of his sobbs.  
He never talked to his parents about the fights he heard most nights when they thought he was sleeping. They never had an angry word to say to each other during the day.  
His mother may have been short tempered with him but he admired her for her beauty and the air of grace she always carried around with her.  
His father worked a lot but he had always tucked him in at night. Even when Amara had insisted that Magnus was too old for that kind of behaviour, Asmodeus had sneaked in to tuck in his baby boy. 

The day it happened was a Friday. A day like any other. Magnus had got the bus home from school, had done his homework and was watching television when his father came home from work two hours later. His mother didn’t work but spent a lot of time with her sister, who’s rich husband was often away travelling the world.  
At eight o’clock, Asmodeus started making dinner. He didn’t say anything but Magnus saw his glance shift from the clock on the wall to the front door. Amara was late.  
The two sat in silence as they ate their pesto pasta. Asmodeus asked his son a couple of questions about his day, but soon the pair couldn’t think of anything to do except watch the door and eat in silence.  
When they finished eating, the duo moved to the living room, switching a movie on the television and they waited.  
Magnus could see his father dial a number on his phone, listen to it ring and then put it back down on the table without speaking a word.  
When ten o’clock came, Asmodeus insisted that Magnus go to bed. It was already two hours past his normal bedtime but Asmodeus had seemed to understand that Magnus had wanted to stay up and wait for his mother.  
Magnus had done as he was told and gone to his room, knowing that he would hear the sound of his mother’s stiletto heels when she arrived.  
Magnus turned to the clock when the familiar click of heels on tile roused him from the light sleep he had fallen into. 3 a.m. the numbers clearly read on his clock.

At first he could only just hear the murmur of low voices but they rapidly grew in volume and Magnus could hear the words that followed with perfect clarity.  
“I can’t stand this anymore. I can’t stand you anymore. I never wanted any of this. I should have never accepted to give us a second chance when I got pregnant. I wish none of it had ever happened.”  
As his mother’s voice echoed around the house, her words went straight to Magnus’ heart. He heard the doors bang and then nothing. The silence was deafening only to finally be broken by the sound of his father’s broken sobbs.

The next morning, Magnus got up after a restless night and went out of his room to see his father sitting alone in the living room.  
“Where’s Mom?” Magnus couldn’t help himself but ask.  
His eyes blank and empty of any life or feeling, Asmodeus looked up from the ground to meet his son’s eyes.  
The single word he uttered held the finality of a death sentence. His tone cold and void.  
“Gone.”


	4. New Beginnings.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He woke up the next morning deeply perturbed by the dream he had had. He had been in gym class at school and had needed to choose his team for a game of dodgeball. All the girls were on one team with Clary at the front of the group, beckoning for him to join her. The other team was composed of faceless boys. As he had stood between the two, trying to make his decision, the members of both teams had started asking one question in unison.  
> “What team do you want to play for, Simon?”
> 
> come tell me what you thought on twitter with #OWFic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING : HOMOPHOBIC LANGUAGE

As Simon sat opposite his friend in the quiet cafe, he tried to think of the perfect thing to say. He could see the pain in his friend’s eyes, see the way those memories still haunted him. Behind the sadness however, he could also see something deeper. Something hidden. The guilt. Simon knew his friend well and Magnus had an enormous heart, but he also had a tendency to take things very personally.  
Deciding that no words could help his friend through his pain, Simon stood up, stepped around the table and pulled his friend into a tight hug.  
The pair stood like that for a good five minutes. Magnus slowly sinking into Simon’s arms and letting his friend carry a part of his height and metaphorically his pain.  
They separated and after Magnus whispered a quick thank you to his friend, they sat back down in their seats.  
After a quick smile, Simon started talking.  
“Before I say anything else, I want you to know that you are the best person I know and you absolutely didn’t deserve any of what happened to you. Thank you so much for confiding in me and trusting me enough to do so, I know it’s not something you do easily.”  
“You’re the first I’ve been able to do it with. You’re the first person I have told.” Magnus interrupted his friend, head low, eyes fixed on the table between them.  
“Oh okay. I didn’t know. I’m glad you were finally ready to share that and I am always here to listen if you want to talk. I hope you know that.”  
“Of course I know that. Thank you for always listening to me when I need it. I feel much better having told you that but could we maybe talk about something else now?”  
“Yeah of course”.  
And just like that, the painful subject was dropped, and the two boys dug into the cakes and coffees that had been delivered as they talked. The conversation soon turned to school and after Magnus checked on Simon’s other best friend, Clary, who he absolutely adored and refused to call anything other than ‘Biscuit’. Clary was fine as always but Simon wanted the latest drama that was Magnus’ breakup with his now ex-girlfriend Camille.

Magnus and Camille had met beginning of senior year of high school. Magnus may not have been a football jock but he was still pretty popular at school, even though he spent most of his time alone. Camille was the head cheerleader and the absolute embodiment of prom queen. With her long dark hair, slim and tall figure and narrow, sharp eyes, she was the envy of every girl. Her always perfect makeup and figure hugging clothes were always up to the latest fashions, ensuring that she caught every passing eye. Magnus had been no different. The difference, however, had been that Camille had returned Magnus’ lingering look.  
More than one girl had tried to catch Magnus Bane’s attention at school but he had returned the affections of very few. In under a week of sharing heated looks and heavy conversations, Camille and Magnus had made their relationship official by making out against Camille’s locker at break.  
The couple burned bright and violently for about a month. With winter formal just around the corner, Magnus getting ready for a fun night with his friends and girlfriend. God, Camille was sure to look amazing.  
However the conversation awaiting him the very next day shattered all of that. As he arrived at school, he walked to Camille’s locker where they would meet up each morning before going to class. The sight awaiting him was far from anything he had expected. Pressed up against her locker was his girlfriend, Camille, with her tongue deep down the throat of the captain of the football team. Meeting Magnus’ eye over the shoulder of big, blonde, muscular, jock, whose name Magnus didn’t know, Camille pushed him gently away before making her way towards a stunned Magnus.  
“Hey, Babe. We’re done. Josh just broke up with his girlfriend so we’re going to go to prom together. It was fun. See you around.”  
As she turned on her heel and walked away, Magnus tried to stop his tears from running as he watched her disappear, leaving him in her shadow.  
Magnus had been heartbroken for a month after that and having to watch as Camille paraded around the school with string of football playing boyfriends certainly wasn’t helping. The one person who did help was George. He was a transfer student who had arrived at Magnus’ school only a few days after the dreaded breakup. The boys had become quick friends, bonding over their similar histories and George was a constant source of comfort for Magnus in the month following his heartbreak.  
After a particularly grueling show of Camille sticking her tongue down a nameless football player’s throat, noticing Magnus, and giving him a wink and a smile before pulling the boy of the week into the bathroom with her, Magnus had found himself in a dark room with his head on George’s chest as he sobbed and his friend stroked his hair. George and Magnus had always just been friends, sure they touched a lot compared to other males friends, but Magnus was going through a hard time and needed the comfort. In that instant, something changed. Magnus’ tears dried on his checks as he stared into his friend’s eyes. Without breaking their gaze on each other, their lips moved closer together, as if pulled by invisible forces. The moment broke when their lips finally met and Magnus gasped, realised where he was and what he was doing before running out the door.  
Magnus was eighteen and had always been intrigued by the other boys in his school but he had never known if that interest was attraction or just curiosity. If he knew nothing else, there was one thing he couldn’t ignore. He wanted to kiss George again, and properly this time.  
The next day, however, the conversation he had planned in bed that night was immediately derailed. George was waiting for him in front of his locker that morning.  
Nodding his head hello, George took hold of Magnus’ arm and led him to his empty classroom.  
“Hey, I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. I know you are hurting about Camille and I would never want to cross that line when you’re at a hard time in your life.”  
Interrupting his friend’s speech, Magnus took hold of George’s hand.  
“George, look at me. You didn’t upset me. I think I like you.”  
“I like you too, Magnus, I have since we met but I knew that you needed a friend. And besides, there is something I need to tell you.”  
Magnus listened silently as his friend told him he was moving away at the end of the summer. Magnus was disappointed but the two decided that they should stay friends for the two months of summer they had left together. The friends hugged and George promised to always be there for Magnus and answer any of his questions about sexuality and the new questions and problems he was being faced with. 

Falling silent after his story, Magnus kept his eyes fixed on the cup of coffee in front of him. He took a deep breath and looked up at his friend. Simon was smiling up at him and squeezed his arm.  
“Thanks man, it means so much that you told me not only about your mom but also about George. You deserve to be happy and I wish nothing more for you. George may not have been the one for you but one day, someones going to love you heart and soul and when that day comes, promise me that you won’t push them away.”  
Feeling tears of gratitude start to sting his eyes, Magnus simply returned the arm squeeze that Simon was giving him and mumbled a very genuine ‘thank you’ to his friend.

***

Magnus’ first week at design school had been mayhem. Getting to know his fellow students, getting lost in the massive university campus, and attending his first lectures. He was happy, had met some nice and interesting people, and was enjoying the lectures, but Magnus still felt something was missing. He had always heard that university was the place you meet the people you would be friends with for the rest of your life. Of course, he had Simon who would always be his best friend, but the boys had a strange friendship and Magnus wanted someone he could drink atrocious amounts of coffee with, while gossiping about cute boys and pretty girls.  
A couple weeks into the school year, Magnus was running late for his 8AM lecture. If there was one thing that could slow his sprint for the lecture hall it was the enthralling smell of coffee wafting out of his favourite coffee shop in front of the university grounds.  
Arrive somewhat on time but without the caffeine hit he desperately needed to get through the day? Or arrive embarrassingly late but with a cup of streamy goodness in his hand?  
His choice easily made up, Magnus ignored the time ticking away on his watch and stepped into the coffee shop. As he stepped in however, a girl turned and stepped out the door without looking, bumping right into Magnus, the steaming cup of coffee in her hand emptying directly on his brand new blazer. Before he could get angry, an extremely apologetic and distressed girl was wiping at his strained shirt and blazer with her scarf.  
“Oh shit, shit, shit. I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you. I didn’t see the time and just realised I was going to be late for class. I’m so sorry about your shirt. I can buy you a new one if you want.”  
Magnus looked at the girl as she apologised, a smile tugging at his lips. She was beautiful with rich dark skin and strands of blue braided into her long, black, hair. She exuded what Magnus could only describe as ‘Mom energy’ and he immediately liked her.  
“Hey, it’s okay. I didn’t even like this shirt anyway, so you probably did me a favour. Besides, now I have an excuse to go shopping.” He reassured her with a large smile.  
“Are you sure you’re not mad? It’s okay if you are. I did just pour a hot cup of coffee on you as well as stepping on your feet.”  
“Of course, I am. Now come on, we are both too late to show our faces at our lectures now, so let me buy you a new coffee since you didn’t get to enjoy yours.”  
The girl let out a loud and joyous laugh as she led Magnus to the counter.  
“Okay but I’m paying for both of ours. No discussion. And I’m Catarina Loss, by the way.”  
“Alright then, Catarina Loss, you can pay, but I’m ordering the most extravagant coffee they have, so be warned. And I’m Magnus Bane.”

After that morning of coffee and getting to know each other, the two became fast friends. Magnus was studying design and Catarina nursing at the university across town but Catarina’s long time boyfriend was studying literature at the same school as Magnus so the trio quickly became inseparable.  
Meeting Ragnor had been an experience to say the least and although the older man had spent five tense minutes staring Magnus up and down without saying a word, he had then turned to Cat, declared he liked him, and the friendship was born. 

***

Since meeting years prior, Clary and Simon had grown very close. From their friendship, a close relationship had stemmed between Elaine, and Clary’s mother, Jocelyn, who had left her husband when she found out she was pregnant, and was helping Elaine adjust to life as a single mother. As a consequence, the two young teens spent a lot of time at each other’s houses.  
A year after meeting, they had turned sixteen and started to think that maybe their friendship would evolve into something romantic. They had always gotten on so well and as all their classmates were beginning to venture into their first relationships, Simon had started to look at Clary in a different way.  
Simon had always thought Clary was pretty, even though she had always gumbled about her red hair making her look like a carrot. She was his best friend and he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.  
A week later, Simon had asked Clary out to the movies and they had held hands for most of the evening. After that date, they had officially started dating, and although they were comfortable holding hands, hugging, and generally hanging out together, they still hadn't kissed. Neither had really tried to make it happen but it was starting to stress Simon out.  
After a week of dating, Simon had walked Clary home, after an afternoon at the park. However, instead of kissing her on the cheek, as he previously had, Simon had decided to take the leap and quickly peck her on the lips.  
Clary shot him a warm smile and went inside, leaving Simon alone outside.  
She stood pressed up against the door after closing it on Simon. She should have been happy that her boyfriend had kissed her goodbye on her doorstep, right? Of course, she was. She adored Simon and couldn’t imagine being with any other boy. And yet, that kiss hadn’t felt right. Maybe it was just because it had been a quick peck, but Clary couldn’t get over the unsettling feeling that she was missing something obvious.  
On the other side of the door, Simon was making his way back home, lost deep in his thoughts. Maybe he should have kissed Clary properly and not just given her a rushed peck in front of her front door. Yeah that was the problem. He would do something special the next time they saw each other. He would kiss her again and it would be perfect.  
Later that night, he lay in bed planning the perfect kiss with Clary. The kiss that would feel right, and erase from his mind the feeling that kissing Clary wasn’t the wrong thing to be doing. As he planned and repeated the disastrous kiss over and over in his head, Simon realised that he was more worried by the thought of kissing his girlfriend again than excited. Pushing that thought far away, he rationalised his feelings of doubt away. He was seventeen, Clary was his first girlfriend. He had just had his first kiss. It was normal to be nervous. And with that thought, he was finally able to fall asleep.

He woke up the next morning deeply perturbed by the dream he had had. He had been in gym class at school and had needed to choose his team for a game of dodgeball. All the girls were on one team with Clary at the front of the group, beckoning for him to join her. The other team was composed of faceless boys. As he had stood between the two, trying to make his decision, the members of both teams had started asking one question in unison.  
“What team do you want to play for, Simon?”

***

The year passed in a flurry. The three friends had passed their final exams with flying colors. For their second year, they were looking into moving out of their dorms and renting a little apartment, at an equal distance from the two universities.  
Magnus had just let himself into Catarina’s dorm room, to tell his friend he had found a cool and affordable apartment for them to look at, when he saw both his friends sitting on the floor. Cat curled up in Ragnor’s embrace, the traces left behind in her foundation were proof of her tears.  
Catarina was staring at the ground, eyes fixed on some invisible point ahead of her. Ragnor stood to greet his friend. Giving him a quick hug, which was definitely out of character for the man, but Magnus was too scared about what had happened to ask questions about the hug.  
“Cat? Are you okay? What happened? Ragnor? What’s wrong?”  
At his words Catarina starting sobbing quietly. As Magnus stepped forward to comfort her and apologize, Ragnor stopped him with a hand on his arm.  
Magnus sat in stunned silence as his friend explained. Cat had been feeling weird for a couple of days and had called him a few hours ago to announce that she had taken a pregnancy test that had turned out positive. The couple had discussed their options and Catarina had decided that she didn’t feel capable of terminating the pregnancy. She was going to put a pause to nursing school to have the baby and Ragnor was going to get a job. 

The three friends had managed to find time to see each other over the summer, but once September came, Magnus was busy with school. Ragnor was working long hours at the library and Cat was busy moving into the small apartment Ragnor and her had been able to afford on both his wages from the library and from the part time work she had been doing at the cafe where she met Magnus, Java Jones.

*** 2 years later ***

Alexander Lightwood stood staring up at the massive gate in front of him. He was beyond excited to be starting university, and his new life, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that he was terrified. He had gone to a small high school where everyone knew everybody's business. Things had gotten hard for him a couple months before the end of term. He had finally gathered the courage to tell his friend, Raj, that he had had a massive crush on him for the last one. The conversation hadn't gone as Alec had hoped, as his friend had pushed him in the face before running and telling everyone that Alec was a homo. Alec had come out to his siblings and close friends a couple years prior, hell he had even come out to his parents, although that was one memory he preferred not to remember, but one could never really prepare for the cruelty of high school students. Those months had been extremely hard on him but Alec had a goal in mind and he wasn’t about to let anyone get in the way of him reaching it.  
That goal was now right in front of him. He had kept his head low, put in the work, and it had paid off. Here he stood. At the gates of his new life.  
With one last deep breath, Alec pushed the gate open and walked onto the campus of the university. He had shocked his siblings when he had announced that he intended to take an english literature and creative writing degree, but they just wanted him to be happy, so hadn’t asked too many questions. The truth was that Alec had always written. Since he was a child, he had written stories and then hidden them under his bed. It had been his secret and one of the few things that had brought him happiness in some of his harder times.  
Alec had been enthralled by the idea that he was entering a new chapter of his life and that he couldn’t completely change who he was. And so he had decided that for the first time, he would be him. He would be Alec Lightwood, a literature major. A gay literature major.  
His first day had passed quickly and he had enjoyed every minute of it. No one had bothered him, his lectures where fascinating, the professors seemed to care, and a cute guy had smiled at him in the cafeteria. So yeah, overall a pretty good day.  
The last event of the day was in the lecture hall. Alec swung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out of the room. His shoulder immediately made contact with something hard. Looking up, he watched as the pile of books he had just walked into fell out of the hands of a boy with glasses. A boy who had had the misfortune of passing in front of the door at that moment.  
“Oh sorry, I didn’t see you; let me help you pick those up.” Alec said squatting to gather the fallen books.  
“Hey, that’s okay. You didn’t mean to and no one got hurt.” the other boy answered, crouching next to Alec to pick up the scattered books.  
Alec took a moment to study the boy in front of him. He was shorter than Alec, as were most people. He had curly, brown, hair and kind, brown, eyes behind his glasses. His ‘Star Wars’ t-shirt was half covered by a denim jacket that was covered in badges. There were a couple he didn’t recognise, like Rock Solid Panda, or Champagne Enema, but one he instantly knew and it immediately put a smile on his face. The gay flag was prominant on the front of his jacket, blending in this the other badges, but still visible for anyone who took the time to look.  
Once Simon had collected his pile of books, the two boys stood up and introduced themselves.  
“I’m Simon, by the way”  
“Alec.” he answered with a smile, placing the books he still held on top of the pile that was already in Simon’s arms.  
It was at that moment that someone walked past them. An elbow slamming out and sending Alec to the ground.  
“Oh look! It’s Alec the Faggot! Day one and already trying to make out with some nerd are ya?”  
Jonathan continued on his path out of the school with a wicked smile on his face. Alec sat where he had landed on the floor and Simon watched the boy leave with an angry glare on his own face. Alec closed his eyes and rested his head back on the wall. He thought he had left his high school hell behind and that he could start anew at university. But it seemed his demons had followed him here. Jonathan Morgenstern had been the most popular boy at high school and had been the most violent in his tormenting of Alec.  
Alec was brought out of his thoughts by Simon holding out a hand to help him up.  
“What was that about? Do you know that creep?”  
Alec nodded.  
“Yeah, sorry, that was Jonathan. We went to high school together and he gave me a pretty hard time when I got outed by the guy I liked.” Alec kept his eyes firmly on the ground, he couldn’t believe he had just said that, but he had felt like Simon was someone who would understand.  
“I’m sorry that happened to you. And I’m sure you’ll find someone great who won’t be an asshole.”  
Alec returned the boy’s smile.  
“I hope so, but it would seem I have the worst luck in guys. It seems I am condemned to be single forever. By any chance, you wouldn’t happen to know any available, super hot guy who may be interested?” Alec asked with a nervous laugh.  
“Actually, now that you mention it, maybe I should introduce you to my best friend.” Simon said with a gleeful laugh.


	5. Through The Window

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two people meet and Simon asks Alec to do him a favour which won’t go quite as he had expected. 
> 
> When A Window Opens is back, thanks for waiting. Use the #OWFic if you want to tweet your reaction or thoughts about the Chapter.

The birds were singing and the sun warmed his skin. It was one of those days where you just had to enjoy being alive. He opened his eyes when the sweet smell of coffee drifted through the air towards him. He was only a couple of steps from his destination. His usual coffee shop. They had the best iced coffee and always greeted him by name and asked about his mum.  
He ordered his drink to go. He wanted to enjoy the sun while it lasted.  
Taking a sip, he plugged in his headphones and swiped through the music on his phone to find the perfect one. Finding a song, he looked up and immediately spotted a cute guy walking directly towards him, a cup of coffee in his hand and phone in the other.  
As he took a sip of his coffee , he tried to get a look at the boy’s behind as he passed him. He walked straight into a lamp post and fell over his feet and onto the pavement. He quickly got up, thankful that he hadn’t spilled his drink and that no one seemed to have seen him.  
That’s when he heard it; a loud and infectious laugh. The cute boy he had been checking out was doubled over laughing. Well it seemed someone had seen his embarrassing fall after all. At that moment however, the laughing boy who was still chuckling quietly to himself, tripped over the uneven sidewalk, spilling his drink all over the floor and on his sleeve.  
He couldn’t keep himself from laughing as he approached the boy who was still sat on the pavement, the stunned look on his face only serving to make his spectators laugh more.  
“Are you okay? Let me buy you a new cup of coffee...since I seemed to have distracted you”. The boy smiled back up at him.  
“I couldn't possibly say no to that. Especially after I ... fell for you.”

As far as puns go, it was a terrible but he could stop laughing. After all, he didn’t mind being the funny one in the relationship. 

***

Alec checked the time for the fourth time. His siblings were never on time for anything but forty minutes late was pushing it a bit too far.  
As he was reaching for his phone to send Izzy a text, asking where they were, it started ringing with an incoming call from his brother, Jace.  
“Hey, we are downstairs. Come open the door for us.” He had hung up before Alec could even get a word out. Sometimes he really wanted to hit his brother in the face.  
Finally the three Lightwood siblings were gathered in the same room and spread out on the few available surfaces of Alec’s dorm room. 

The trio had tried to meet up every month since Alec had left home and started university. They knew that Alec preferred not to come home for weekends and holidays, but he also missed them a lot.  
Izzy pulled out the bag of toffees, she always kept them stashed in Alec’s closet for these meetings, and they settled into their usual discussions.  
They always seemed to follow a similar path. Jace and Izzy would tell him about what was going on at their school and in their home town in general and would then quiz Alec about his life. This particular conversation normally ended in a fight because Alec had no news to tell and his siblings would grumble about him not having a life. Today, however, he was happy to inform them that he had made a friend.  
“Ohh, a friend-friend or a potential boyfriend-friend?” Alec rolled his eyes at his sister’s question. Of course, all she wanted to know was if he finally had a boyfriend.  
“No, Iz. He is just a friend. Nothing more. Hyper and nerdy is definitely not my type.”  
Alec laughed as Izzy visibly deflated at the comment.  
“You’re so boring. How am I supposed to live vicariously through you if your life is more boring than mine?”  
“I know, Iz. I’m sorry my life isn’t more fun for you. You could always, you know, find yourself someone and stop pestering me to do so.”  
“Urgh, tell me about it! You would think that it would be easier with liking boys and girls but it’s just so hard to find someone special.” Alec reached out to pat his sister’s arm. He knew how much she wanted to find someone and fall in love . He truly wished that she would find the perfect person.  
Turning his attention away from the now moping Isabelle, Alec noticed that Jace had been rather quiet throughout their entire exchange. His brother loved the sound of his own voice and normally was never this quiet. Especially when they were talking about their love lives.  
“What about you, Jace? You still running after that blonde in your class? What’s her name? Lydia?”  
“Huh? What?” Jace looked up, clearly confused at being addressed.  
Alec frowned. It wasn’t like Jace to get lost in his thoughts. That was normally his move.  
“I was asking about Lydia. Has she finally said yes to that date you have been trying to get? Or have you just moved on to the next girl?”  
“Oh, yeah. Lydia. She is nice but I think we are better off friends.” At that both Alec and Izzy looked shocked. Jace just wanting to be friends with a girl? That never happened.  
“Ohhh, someone is in love!” Izzy teased, laughing when Jace blushed.  
Izzy spent the next half hour trying to get answers out of Jace about his new sweetheart. Alec noticed that he seemed a bit more embarrassed than he normally would be but he was mainly glad that Izzy was focused on Jace and not him.  
Finally the two younger siblings had to go and catch their train home. They hugged their big brother and promised to get together soon. 

***  
Simon shouted and waved as he saw his friend across the crowd. There were so many people. He would have never been able to spot him if Alec wasn’t so insanely tall. Finally spotting Simon, waving in the crowd, Alec made his way to him.  
“Hey! Almost didn’t see you there!”  
“Yeah, it’s pretty crazy this morning. Do you have class now?”  
“No, I have a free period. You?”  
“Same. Wanna go get food before everyone comes to the cafeteria?  
“Yeah.”  
The two boys headed to the cafeteria in silence. They had met a week ago and got along but they were still getting to know each other and with neither of them being very socially skilled, their conversations were still a bit awkward sometimes.  
They sat at one of the few available tables, the cafeteria was always packed around lunch time. They ate in silence for a bit until the silence became uncomfortable and Simon tried to start a conversation.  
“So, I hear the school has a couple sport teams that you can sign up to. Are you going to join a team?”  
“Umm, I’m not sure. I used to do a couple different types of martial arts with my siblings but I have really been one for collective sports. What about you?” Alec tried to keep his voice neutral. If he was being honest, he could not imagine Simon on the football team but he wasn’t going to be rude when they were just becoming friends.  
“Oh, no, I’m not really into sports. I see myself more as a nerd than a jock.”  
The conversation trailed off as the two boys returned to their lunches. Alec saw Simon open his mouth a couple of times, as if he was going to say something, but he never did and Alec didn’t question him about it. 

After they had been sitting for five minutes in silence and were nearly finished eating, Simon put his food down and met Alec’s eye.  
“Hey, could you do me a huge favour?”  
Uh, yeah, sure. What do you need?” Alec was a bit nervous and he could see that Simon was too. He tried to smile so Simon would relax. It kind of worked but he could see his friend was still tense.  
“I won’t be in class tomorrow, and I was wondering... If you wouldn’t mind going to my apartment and feeding my cat after class?”  
“Oh, of course, yeah.” Alec exhaled. That had been the last thing he expected but it would be easy to do and he had always liked cats.  
“Thank you, so much. I will text you the address. It’s only a couple of minutes off campus and I will get you a set of keys.”

After that, the boys finished their lunch and continued their day as normal, Simon thanking Alec another time when he gave him a set of keys with a Star Wars keychain on them. 

***

When Alec had finished class that evening, he was exhausted. All he wanted to do was go back to his room and sleep. Preferably for 48 hours but at this point, he could take what he could get.  
But no, he had told Simon he would feed his stupid cat, so here he was. The evil animal didn’t even like him. Every time he had gone to his friend’s apartment, the cat had given him an evil glare.  
He arrived at the mess that Simon called home. The cat was nowhere to be seen. Thank God for small miracles! Alec filled up the water and food bowls. He quickly checked the place to make sure nothing was out of order. Even if a strong argument could be made that order wasn’t something that existed in Simon’s apartment.  
Everything seemed fine and so Alec made his way to the door, counting the minutes until he could collapse on his bed. 

*

Magnus checked his phone one more time. Nothing. He knew today would be hard and he had really hoped that his friend would have called him.  
They hadn’t gotten together in a couple months and hadn’t been texting as much as they used to. Magnus got it though. Simon had started university. He was busy and besides, Magnus was happy that his friend didn’t need him as much as he used to. But despite that, it didn’t mean that he didn’t still worry.  
Magnus had considered sending a text, but he wanted to be able to truly be there for his friend if he needed him. And if he didn’t, at least they could catch up. It had been too long since they had seen each other.  
His mind made up, he made his way to his car and drove to Simon’s house.  
Magnus had often been called impulsive, and maybe he did need to think things through before doing them, but all he wanted was to make his friend smile.  
It was with that logic that he decided that instead of going to the front door and knocking, he could climb up and pop up outside the kitchen window.

*

Alec turned off the light. The evil cat had been fed. The apartment was fine. He sent a quick text to Simon, to tell him everything was fine, before heading for the door.  
He had his hand on the door knob when he heard a crash. The sound came from the kitchen and at the last time he had seen him, Church was laying on Simon’s bed. Alec picked up a heavy looking book from the table by the table and made his way towards the sound.  
He turned the corner, book raised, ready for whatever he may find. As he stepped into the room, however, he has no idea what to do. In a pile at the foot of the kitchen window was a young man. He looked to be in his early twenties and he most certainly not Simon.  
“Who are you?” Alec approached the intruder, book raised. Ready. For what he wasn’t sure. This guy didn”t look like your typical burglar, but then again he had just climbed through the window while Simon was away.  
“I’m Magnus! Who the hell are you?! Could you put the book down?! Where is Simon?!”  
“I’m Alec! I’m feeding the cat while Simon is away!”  
Alec watched as this Magnus guy got up from the floor, closed the window. He walked past him and towards the door. At his point, he was beyond confused and quite tired.  
“Well, Alexander, it was a pleasure meeting you. Please tell Simon I was here and I hope to see you again.”  
“Wait! You can’t just go…” Alec tried to run after the man but he had already left. He had no idea what had happened. He made sure both the window and front door were locked before leaving, sending a text to Simon on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. ❤


	6. When A Door Closes, A Window Opens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We meet the people we're supposed to when the time is just right."  
> ~Alyson Noel.
> 
> To celebrate some good news, simon throws a party.  
> New meetings, revelations and first dates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, had a hard time writting it and it would have never been possible for me to finish this chapter and the fic without @Allie_Enigma, thank you so much 🍓
> 
> Don't forget to leave a comment and use the #OWFic if you want to tweet about it, I love hearing from you guys.

Simon awoke that morning to the sound of pots clanging and the smell of coffee. He opened his tired eyes and for a second, didn't know where he was. The room was not his room in his apartment, it was one even more familiar. As he lay in bed in his childhood room, his brain awoke and he remembered the events of the previous day. He had arrived at the train station a little before noon. Becky had been there to greet him and his mother had been waiting to hug him the moment he had stepped through the door.  
They had had lunch together, catching up on each other's lives before walking up the hill to visit Levi's grave.  
Simon hadn't visited since he came to say goodbye, before he had left for college. Becky was busy with her job in the city and couldn't visit often but the grave was obviously well tended for.  
"I often come up here and tell him about my day. About the two of you and how proud I am of you." Elaine had crouched down to change the old flowers for new ones she has brought. It had been six years since Elaine had lost her husband and Simon and Becky had lost their father, and although the path had been far from easy, they had come out on the other side, together and stronger than ever.  
The rest of the day had been quiet. The family of three had enjoyed each other's presence and looked at the pictures of the children's childhood in the many albums that Elaine had made.  
That night, Simon had sat by his window for a while before sleeping. He missed his father (he probably always would) but he also knew that his dad would be proud of the man he had become. Even if he hadn't been there to see him grow up, Simon was grateful for the family that he still had.

As Simon reached for his phone, he turned on the screen and was immediately blinded by the bright light. Once his eyes had adjusted enough to see the screen he panicked at what he found.  
Five missed calls and three text messages.  
The first message he had received was from Magnus. He hadn't seen his friend in a while but Magnus would have known that yesterday had been a hard day for him. The next two messages where from Alec. It appeared that Magnus had gone to his apartment last night to check on him. Alec had been there at the time and the two had met.  
He checked the calls. They were all from Alec. He knew his new friend would be confused and probably concerned about Magnus apparently coming through his window. He sent him a text saying that everything was fine and not to worry before he made his way downstairs in search of a cup of coffee. Magnus would still be sleeping so he could call him later.

***

Clary sipped her coffee as she waited for her best friend to show up. She had some news to share and was nervous about how Simon would react.  
She had known Simon for years. They had been best friends since high school when after one disastrous date, they had decided that they were much better off as friends.  
Thinking back to that day, her nervousness disappeared. She had always been able to tell Simon everything and this would be no different.  
As she had been about to step through her front door and into her house, Clary felt a hand on her arm. She could see how nervous Simon was and so she had smiled to reassure him, as she always had. Going from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend had been a little weird but she liked Simon and always enjoyed spending time with him. Simon had kissed her. It was a short kiss and then he had scurried down the drive, his cheeks a deep red.  
That night as she lay in bed, she replayed the kiss in her mind. Of course she had expected that Simon would kiss her now that he was her boyfriend but somehow when he had kissed her, it just felt wrong. She knew she was Simon's first girlfriend but he had kissed a boy at her other school before moving. It had been a dare and she had never really thought about it but she knew that it had also felt wrong to her.  
She avoided Simon at school the next day. She didn't know what was wrong but she needed some time to work it out. That's when it happened. The crowd parted to let her past; the most popular girl in school. She was perfect. She was strong. And no one ever messed with her. Maia. As she walked past Clary, the smell of her perfume staying in the air in her wake, the young redhead knew. It that moment, she had felt more than she had when Simon had kissed her.

She knew she had to tell Simon; but she had no idea how she would do so.  
Simon had agreed to meet her at their usual coffee shop. He was sitting at their both when she arrived. As scared as she was, she saw that Simon was also nervously bouncing his leg and that he looked on edge.  
They exchanged greetings and fell into a tense silence as they waited for they drinks to arrive.  
Just as she had decided that she was going to just say what she was thinking, Clary decided to speak, but at the same time, Simon did the same.  
"Simon, I think I like girls."  
"Clary, I think I like boys."  
The two had talked for hours following those announcements. That day, they had agreed to stay best friends forever and to always have each others back.

As the door opened, the sound of the bell dinging pulled Clary from her thoughts. She looked to see her friend.  
"Hey, Fray. You're here early. You want me to order you a refill?"  
As Simon occupied himself with getting their drinks, Clary prepared herself for the news she had to give. She had been waiting for this for months, but now that the time had come, she couldn't help wonder if she was actually ready.  
"I got a letter in the post this morning." Clary tried to control her grin as she watched Simon. He was trying to decipher what she had meant and tilted his head in confusion. She watched as a sign of understanding appeared in his eyes, closely followed by excitement.  
"Oh my God!! You got in! You did it!! Congratulations! I knew you could do it!"  
Clary squealed as she pulled the acceptance letter from 'Parsons' in New York. It was one of the best art schools in the world and it had always been Clary's dream to go but the selection was insane. But she had done it. She had gotten in. And now she had to leave in two weeks. Leaving everything she knew behind in order to chase her dream.

***

When Alec arrived at school that morning, he saw his friend was waiting for him by the main entrance. He could tell his friend was excited and he knew that he would have to put up with Simon's excited ramblings for the rest of the day.  
It turned out that Simon was excited because he wanted to throw a party. He had been at his apartment for over a month and had never gotten around to having a housewarming party. He added that he wanted all his friends to meet and avoid any house invasion caused meetings. He also wanted to throw a going away party for his best friend.  
"Si, slow down. I get you want to have a party. I'm in. Do you want me to help you organise it?" Alec couldn't help smiling when his friend had finally stopped talking and grinned up at him.  
"Yes, please! Yayy!! We're having a party!"  
Alec checked his watch. They had to get to class. As they walked, Simon told Alec all of his ideas for the party, Alec started to wonder if he had made a big mistake in agreeing to help Simon. 

By the next weekend, they had a plan. The party was set for the next Friday night. Simon invited his two best friends: Clary (who Alec had heard a lot about) and Magnus (who Alec had already met.) Alec was also bringing his brother and sister. They had invited some other friends from school and Magnus was bringing someone else. Alec's heart had sunk at that one, which was ridiculous really. They had only met once, and it hadn't been the most conventional of meetings, but still he had secretly hoped that the man was single.

Alec had had a late lunch break on Tuesday so he didn't eat with Simon as he did on other days. He was making his way towards the cafeteria when he heard snickering behind him. He knew who it was and was just about to just walk away when he stopped in his tracks.  
Jonathan had ruined his high school years but Alec had done nothing. He had let him get away with it. He wasn't about to do the same this time. He had promised himself that he was going to change now that he was in University. He was going to just be himself and never apologise for it.  
Jonathan stopped laughing when Alec turned around to face him.  
"What's so funny, Morgenstern?" Jonathan's grin came back at the question but Alec knew that it wouldn't stay there long.  
"Where is your little boyfriend, Lightwood? He finally leave your gay ass?"  
"Simon is not my boyfriend. We are just friends. Although I do have to wonder why you're so interested in my relationship status and my ass… you know what they say about homophobes…"  
Alec smiled as he watched Jonathan's face turn red and his eyes go wild.  
"Are you calling me a faggot? Did you really just call me fucking fag, Lightwood?"  
Alec was pretty sure that Jonathan wasn't gay. He was just an asshole but sometimes the only way to beat a bully was to play him at his own game.  
"Of course I'm not, Jonathan. I would never use that kind of disgusting language." Alec turned his back on the sputtering boy and made his way towards the cafeteria.  
"I'll kill you Lightwood. I'll fucking kill you."  
Jonathan's angry screams were all too easy to ignore and Alec didn't turn his head.  
When he had reached the far end of the corridor, he saw a blonde guy staring at him. Grinning from ear to ear.  
The guy stepped into pace, going up to Alec when he had walked past him.  
"I'm Andrew and I must say, I'm a big fan of your work. Jonathan needed to be shut up."  
Alec smiled at the boy. He had never seen him before but he seemed friendly and he was always glad for some support against Jonathan.  
"I'm Alec. I don't make a habit of arguing with close minded idiots but I needed to do that for my pride."  
"Well, like I said, it was fun to watch. You heading to lunch?"  
"Yeah. Want to join? I hear they have pizza today."  
Alec enjoyed his lunch with Andrew. He was smart and funny. He was also gay which was a plus.  
Simon had told Alec he could invite whoever he wanted to the party that weekend so Alec had invited Andrew and his boyfriend.  
Andrew was a bit surprised at the invite but said he would be there and would ask Lorenzo if he was available.

***

Simon paced up and down his room. Preparations for the party that night were going well and he just had one more person to invite. Since their ridiculously adorable meeting at the coffee shop a week ago, Simon had been texting Jace every day and he was starting to really like him. They hadn't been able to see each other and Simon really wanted to invite him to his party. Jace was always happy when they texted and Simon thought that the blond liked him, but Simon was terrible at dating and always seemed to mess things up.  
He unlocked his phone to see Jace's face smiling up at him. The younger boy had been complaining about the wind messing up his hair and Simon had immediately requested photographic evidence. His sweet smile and happy face were just about enough to push Simon into being brave enough to send the text.  
"Hey! I'm having a small party at my place tonight. Want to come?"  
He hit send before he could change his mind and threw his phone across the room, already doubting his decision. What if Jace didn't want to hang out? What if he was insulted at being invited last minute? What if the hot blond wasn't interested at all?  
Simon's phone pinged, pulling him from his spiral. He frantically searched for the small device, locating it behind his bed and reading the reply.  
"Sure! Can't wait! Where and when, Si? 😘"  
Simon checked his watch. Clary would be over in an hour in order to help him set up.  
"Whenever you want, Jace. A friend is coming to help me set up in an hour. We are gonna have pizza before the others get here. Want to join? 😘"  
"You know me, So. Can't say no to pizza. See you in an hour. 😘"  
Simon flopped onto his bed. This party was already looking up but now he just had to get through it without making a fool of himself. Something he rarely found easy when faced with a cute boy.

***

Alec put his phone down on his desk and turned to Izzy who was sitting on his bed and putting on her makeup.  
"Jace isn't coming, Iz. Said he had a date."  
"Oh, great! I see he has moved on from whoever his last girlfriend was then. Our brother never does stay down for long, does he?"  
Alec ignored his sister's rant. He was looking between the two nice shirts he had for special occasions. He knew that Jace dated a lot, and his ex-girlfriends often had some pretty colourful tales to tell, but his brother had sounded nervous on the phone and Alec was hoping that this time, it would stick. Or at least last longer than two weeks.  
Finally, Alec picked the dark green, button down shirt that Isabelle had given him for Christmas the previous year. He slipped it on with his black skinny jeans and combat boots. His stubble was a bit longer than he normally would have liked it, and his hair was in it's usual mess, but he had told Simon he would be there at nine and it was time to go.  
Izzy finished applying her signature red lipstick when Alec grumbled about being late for the fifth time. He was already regretting inviting her but Simon had told him to bring friends and he didn't really have any, so Izzy it was.  
Of course, she had been thrilled for a chance to dress up and flirt with cute college students. Alec had told her that it was just a chilled evening at a friend's house but she had insisted that first impressions mattered and that you never know when you are about to meet your soulmate.

***

Jace arrived at the address that Simon had texted him five minutes earlier. He knew that this was just a casual thing, and a friend of Simon's would also be there, but he couldn't help feeling nervous.  
Their meeting in front of the coffee shop had been so ridiculously cute and just thinking about the older boy made Jace smile. He had never dated a boy before , and probably had some stuff to figure out, but for now, he just wanted to enjoy spending some time and getting to know Simon. He would figure everything else out later.  
He hesitated in front of the door. He didn't want to show up too early and freak Simon out. A car door slammed behind him and a short redhead walked up to the door.  
"You're Jace, right? Simon told me you would be coming early. Well come on, you're not just gonna stand in front of the door all night, are you?"  
Jace tried to control his blush as the girl opened the door and stepped into the apartment; leaving him alone before he could even think of an answer.  
Simon had chosen that exact moment to come out of the kitchen, in order to greet Clary, noticing Jace who was standing in the doorway.  
"Hey! I'm so glad you're here! Come in! Come in!"

Much to Jace's surprise, the preparations all passed without incident. Clary was a little cold but Simon more than made up for it and the two boys were always close by to each other.  
When everything was finally ready, they sat down to have some pizza before Simon's guests arrived.  
At this point, Clary was full on ignoring the giggling boys and was scrolling through Twitter on her phone. They were cute and she was happy to see her best friend so happy, but she was also very single and Simon had accidentally mistaken her for Jace and ran his foot up her leg when they had been sitting at the table. She had never seen the boy blush as red before, when she pointed out that Jace's leg was just a little bit to the right.  
All in all, even if she was still not sure about Jace as a person, he had laughed at all of Simon's bad jokes and the two had been giving each other heart eyes all evening, so she approved. She told Simon as much when they were cleaning the dishes after dinner. He had grumbled at her calling him "pretty boy" but had blushed and thanked her when she suggested that he show Jace around the apartment and she was willing to greet any guests that arrived early. 

As Jace walked in front of him, looking around the room, Simon took a moment to admire the boy. He had never been much of a gym guy himself but was feeling pretty grateful that Jace obviously was. Of course, Jace had to choose that moment to turn and catch Simon looking. The blond couldn't hide his smile as his host blushed a deep red.  
"Enjoying the view?" Jace may have been in uncharted water with Simon but there was one thing that Simon knew. Jace was flirting with him.  
He may have been teasing but he hadn't been expecting to see Simon's eyes darken. Simon had always been funny and cute but Jace had never seen him like this before. His cheeks were flushed red, his pupils blown wide, and his lip was wet as he ran his tongue across it. If Jace was being perfectly honest, he had never seen anything hotter.  
"I'm sorry if tonight wasn't the most fun. You know...helping me set up and pizza with Clary...but I promise the party is just getting started."  
"Oh, I think tonight is going to be a lot of fun…" Jace was interrupted as Simon suddenly launched forwards and pulled his face to his. He stopped and Jace stood there, their foreheads touching as they shared the same air. The message in his eyes was clear. If anything was going to happen, it was up to Jace.  
Ignoring the nerves that were twisting in his stomach, Jace knew what he wanted and what it was that he needed to do.  
Jace's arms wrapped around the other man's back. He pulled him, closing the remaining distance as he crashed their lips together.  
The kiss started desperate and violent; the two men fighting for dominance and control of the kiss. Finally, Simon parted the younger man's lips and pushed his tongue into his mouth, biting softly on his bottom lip as he did so. Moaning deeply, Jace surrendered himself completely to Simon, pushing himself as tightly as he could against the man's body.  
They finally broke the kiss when they were both panting for air. But Jace wasn't done and he didn't give Simon a chance to recuperate. He moved his lips downwards, to the pale white skin of Simon's neck. He pressed down several hard kisses as he moved, pausing to bite down on a particularly sensitive spot that made the brunette moan deliciously.  
Simon could feel the pressure building and the tightness in his pants was growing to be comfortable. As Jace pressed up against Simon, he could feel the other boy was in a similar situation. They both knew needed to slow down, people would be arriving soon, and Simon truly cared about Jace, but as the younger man's lips drove him mad and his strong arms drew him delightfully close, the only thing he could think about was getting his lips back on Jace's waiting mouth.

*** 

Alec parked on the side of the road that was in front of Simon's apartment. As he waited for Izzy to get out of the car and fix her outfit, he saw Andrew walking towards him. A man that Alec had never met before was holding Andrew's hand and was following behind.  
Andrew greeted his new friend and the four of them introduced themselves before making their way to the party together.  
They were greeted at the door by a girl that Alec had never met before, but judging by the very bright red hair and the happy way she had invited them in, Alec assumed that it was Clary. The best friend Simon had told him about.  
"Hey! Welcome guys... and girl." Alec swore he could see Izzy blush at the smile Clary shot her way.  
"Simon is around...somewhere. I'm sure he will be out in a sec. Why don't you grab some drinks?"  
They all followed Clary inside and Alec watched as Izzy and Clary immediately started talking against the bar. He went to stand next to Andrew and his boyfriend, Lorenzo, who was sipping a beer.  
Lorenzo was talking about some Italian painter that was a distant relative of his, and as hard as he was trying to listen, Alec was desperate for Simon to show up.  
Twenty minutes passed and more people Alec recognised from school arrived but still, there was no sign of Simon. Alec walked into the living area and was just about to go and ask Clary where Simon was when he saw that the redhead was giggling, sat in his sister's lap.  
Leaning back against his spot on the wall, he was downing his beer when he heard a voice behind him. He didn't recognize it immediately but it was definitely familiar and he was pleasantly surprised to turn and see Magnus, the boy he had caught coming through Simon's window.  
"Finally, a familiar face! I have been here for five minutes and haven't seen a single person I recognise. I don't suppose you know where your lovely host is?"  
Alec had to take a moment to compose himself. The man had been striking when they had first met but tonight was a whole other story. Magnus was even more gorgeous than he remembered and Alec was dangerously close to drooling.  
"Oh, eh, no. I haven't seen him. I came with my sister but she seems a little busy with Clary, who let us in. She said Simon would be out in a minute but I still haven't seen him yet." Magnus glanced over to Clary and Izzy.  
"Ah, yes. They do seem busy, don't they? Maybe we should have a look around. He is probably in his bedroom. Maybe on his phone or something."  
Alec followed Magnus, towards the back of the apartment. They arrived at a closed door that Alec assumed lead to Simon's bedroom. As Magnus was about to open the door, they heard a loud moan from inside.  
Before Alec could stop him, Magnus pushed the door open and walked into the room. Alec reluctantly followed him in, freezing at what he saw inside.  
He had guessed from the moan that he was going to regret entering the room and interrupting the inhabitants. What he hadn't expected was to find his younger brother, sitting on a desk without his shirt and Alec's best friend between his legs, sucking a hickey onto the skin of Simon's chest as he moaned loudly.  
Magnus cat called, catching the attention of the two men, making them turn towards their audience.  
Jace immediately turned red upon catching his brother's eye. He quickly pulled his shirt back over his head and made his way towards the door, Alec close behind him.

***

Alec knocked on the door and they were greeted by a smiling redhead. She introduced herself, said Simon would be out shortly, and invited them to have a drink. Izzy was mesmerized. The way she smiled. The way the light reflected off her golden hair and lit up the room. She was gorgeous.  
As the boys got their drinks and moved to the side of the room, Izzy found herself alone with the beautiful girl, Clary.  
"What do you want to drink?" the girl asked with a smile. Izzy had to shake herself to stop drooling enough to be able to answer.  
"Ehh, whatever you're having."  
"Okay, tequila it is then." She handed Izzy a full shot glass before taking her own and walking over to the sofa. Izzy followed her and sat down facing her.  
"To meeting new people!" Clary said, raising her glass to clink it with Izzy's. She downed the drink, Izzy following suit and gasping as the burning liquid made its way down her throat.  
She had no idea how long they stayed on the sofa together. More people arrived and Clary greeted them, always coming back with refilled glasses for them both. At this point, both of the girls were a little tipsy. Izzy had moved so that she was lying in Clary's lap with her legs up on the sofa. The older girl ran her fingers through Izzy's hair. They talked about their families and school, sharing as much of themselves as they could.  
With the rhythmic stroke of fingers against her scalp and the occasional press of warm lips to her hair, Izzy had never felt safer.  
Izzy was lazily drawing patterns on Clary's thigh, listening as the redhead talked about her dream of being a painter and moving to Paris, when Izzy suddenly sat up, surprised to see not only Alec walking out of a door at the back of the room but also a very embarrassed looking Jace. He had said that he had a date tonight. What on earth was he doing there?  
Promising Clary she would be back in a minute, she got up and walked over to her two brothers. 

“Jace, what on earth are you doing here?” Izzy made her way over to the corner that her brothers were standing. She took in the way that Jace was nervously pulling at the hem of his shirt. Alec was staring into the hall, also obviously embarrassed, but his eyes were burning with questions.  
“Yeah, I would quite like to know that too. And how do you know my friend, Simon?” Alec didn’t sound angry. Just confused and flustered.  
Jace was silent for a couple of tense minutes, before signing and starting to speak.  
“I met Simon a week ago in front of a coffee shop. He fell over and then I did too and he brought me a drink. We have been texting ever since and I was starting to think that I really liked him. Then he told me he was having a party and he invited me to come over early and have pizza. I didn’t know he was your friend and I definitely didn’t know that you would be here tonight.” Jace avoided his siblings eyes as he finished talking. It was Izzy who spoke and Alec stepped forwards to place a comforting hand on his arm.  
“I get that, Jace. But why wouldn’t you tell us? About liking men? You must have known we weren’t going to judge you.”  
“I don’t know. I knew you and Alec have been out for years and would have accepted me but I never really thought about it. I always liked girls and I like sex in general. Then I met Simon and it just felt...right. I don’t know what that means about me or my sexuality but I just knew I wanted to kiss him. Besides, what are the odds that out of three siblings, not a single one is straight?” Izzy and Alec smiled at his remark and he finally relaxed. He knew that his siblings would understand but he still felt relieved that they weren’t angry with him.  
“I love you, Jace and I am so proud of you. Straight is boring.” Izzy whispered into his ear as she pulled into a tight hug. From the way she swayed on her heels, Izzy was obviously pretty drunk but Jace still hugged her back and thanked her before stepping back, facing his brother as Alec spoke.  
“I’m proud of you, brother. Next time, do me a favour and lock the door, okay?”  
“Thank you, brother. I promise I will try.”  
The Lightwood siblings shared one last hug before turning back to the party. 

***  
As he watched Alec pull Jace off the side, Simon stood in the doorway with Magnus. They obviously knew each other and were soon joined by a brunette who had been sitting on the couch with Clary.  
Simon watched the trio talk amongst themselves as Magnus congratulated his friend on finally getting some action. Trying to ignore his friend’s crude remarks, Simon tried to stear the conversation away from the subject of his sex life. Despite this, Magnus seemed to have no interest in the change of subject so Simon went to sit by Clary on the couch instead. His friend was drunk and talking about some Isabelle who apparently had raven hair and the softest skin. Simon tried to follow her ramblings but quickly gave up and moved his focus back to the trio at the back of the room. 

Magnus moved over to the table and made himself a drink. With all the commotion, he had never finished his beer. The door opened and Caterina timidly stuck her head through the front door. She quickly spotted Magnus and made her way over to him.  
Magnus had invited her and she had said that she would pass by if she had the time.  
“Hey! I wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight!" He greeted his friend with a hug.  
“Yeah, things have been pretty crazy lately but Ragnor had the evening off so he is at home with Madzie and I have the night to “enjoy myself” as he says.”  
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. Can I get you a drink? Or are you driving?”  
“I’m driving and can only stay for an hour or so but I wanted to catch up. It has been too long and I have some pretty big news.”  
“Oh my God! Cat, are you pregnant again?! Oh yay! I love babies and I have so many ideas for names! This is so cool!”  
“Magnus, calm down. I’m not pregnant. What I wanted to let you know is that now that Madzie is a little older, and Ragnor has better hours at the bookstore, I am planning to go back to school and hopefully become a nurse.” The excitement was shining in her eyes, as she waited for her friend to react to her news.  
Of course, Magnus, never one to do things halfway, picked up Cat and spun her around in his arms.  
“Oh, that is amazing Cat! I am so proud of you! You are going to make such an amazing nurse! Don’t you worry bout' a thing! I’ll help and babysit! And I can help you study! It will be so good!"

The evening wound down and soon, only the three lightwood siblings, Magnus, Clary, and Simon remained. Everyone had had a couple too many drinks and had broken off into pairs. Izzy and Clary were curled up on the sofa, arms and legs intertwined as they slept. Jace was lying with his head on Simon’s head as they talked about Star Wars and Simon tried to make Jace’s hair stand up on his head. Alec and Magnus were sitting by the window, discussing the best date possible. 

***

Izzy passed up and down the room as she tried to bring up the nerve to send the text. She had gotten Clary’s number at Simon’s party but she was terrified to send the first text.  
She knew she really wanted to see Clary again but she had never really dated. She definitely knew that she had never been this nervous about sending a text before.  
Taking one deep breath, she typed the text and sent it. It was done and now she couldn’t take it back.  
“Hey. It’s Izzy. Do you want to get coffee some time?”  
Before the panic was over and what she had done could fully set in, her phone vibrated and sent her heart into overdrive.  
“I would love to. Is tomorrow at 11 okay?”  
Izzy quickly sent Jace a text, cancelling their morning jog. She had better things to do tomorrow and took the time to set a location for their date. Was it a date? Was Clary just being friendly? Surely not. The other had kissed her on the cheek and after giving Izzy her number, she had asked Izzy to call her. Friends didn’t do that. 

If Izzy thought texting Clary had been hard, deciding what to wear was hell. She wanted to look good, she wanted to take Clary’s breath away, but she also wanted to be herself. Not hidden behind heavy makeup and a tight dress.  
The look that she went for went for in the end was perfect. It had taken a lot of time and effort, but she knew he had gotten it right. The black skinny jeans were casual and yet hugged her in all the right places. Her red blouse was elegant, the v-neck showing just enough skin to grab the other girl's attention but not enough to be vulgar. Her go-to pair of lucky hells clicked comfortingly on the ground as she walked and both the simple makeup she was wearing and the bold red lips she displayed were very her. She was simple. She was hot. She was elegant. She was powerful. She was Izzy. 

She arrived at the agreed upon coffee shop a couple of minutes early. She was pleasantly surprised to see Clary already waiting for her at a table. She looked beautiful. Her long red curls cascading down her shoulders and contrasting perfectly with the deep green sweater that she wore. Her face only had minimal makeup on and both the several golden rings that were on her fingers and the matching necklace that was around her neck caught and shone in the light. Izzy was stunned by her beauty.  
The hour that they spent, drinking coffee and talking about everything and nothing, was the most fun that Izzy had had in a long time. They just seemed to click. They understood each other with only a look.  
After their coffee, neither wanted to say goodbye and Clary suggested that they take a walk in the park, behind the cafe.  
The day passed and the sun started it’s descent as they walked together and talked. They reached the point where they would have to separate to get home. Izzy turned to Clary and stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. They were perfectly matched in height so Izzy would only have to lean forwards to kiss the redhead.  
Their day together had been perfect and Izzy felt pretty confident that now was the time to kiss Clary goodnight. What she hadn’t expected was for the other girl to step back as she stepped closer to her.  
“Izzy, wait. There is something I need to tell you.” Izzy waited for her to continue, even if she was getting more and more nervous about what Clary had to say.  
“I’m really glad we met at Simon’s and I loved our time together today. You are an amazing person and I loved getting to know you. But...before this goes any further, I need to tell you something… I am leaving in a week for University in New York.”  
After she had finished talking, Clary's eyes were fixed on the ground. New York had always been her dream but the day she had spent with Izzy made her wish that she was staying and that they could start something together.  
“I like you, Clary. Of course, I am sad to hear that you are leaving but if you still have a week, shouldn’t we enjoy the time we have together as opposed to being sad about a future that we can’t change?”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes. One week with you is better than nothing, Clary Fray. Why not make the most of the time we have been given?”  
Izzy could still see the sadness in Clary's eyes but a small smile lit up her face. Izzy stepped forwards, their lips connecting in a soft kiss that was both full of possibilities and regrets.

***

Magnus and Alec had been texting since the party and when Magnus had proposed that they get a drink at the Hunter’s Moon, a small pub, Alec was a little nervous but excited.  
Alec wasn’t much of a drinker so he had a beer while Magnus ordered some kind of cocktail that Alec didn’t know the name of. The bar had a pool table and Alec figured that this would be his opportunity to shine (since he had played quite a bit with Jace.) However, Magnus didn’t seem to make a single mistake and won the game easily.  
“Come on, there is no way that you are not cheating!"  
“Don’t be a sore loser, Alexander! Maybe I am just that good.” the comment was accompanied with a wink and a smile that did strange things to Alec’s breathing.  
“Okay?”  
“Okay.”  
“Yeah, okay. Let’s play.” They played five more games, the final score being three to Magnus and two to Alec. The older man was very proud of his win and Alec didn’t mind too much since he got to see the smile on Magnus’ face.

Alec slowly moved from his beer to the cocktail Magnus had ordered for him. However, when the conversation turned to exes, he wished to had had a chance to down more of something stronger. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, even less so sober.  
He had suspected that Magnus had been in a relationship before but of course, he had. He was older, confident, beautiful. Alec was just worried. He didn’t want Magnus to think that he was a freak because he had never dated.  
“I, uhh, I had a hard time at high school. There was this guy that I liked and he didn’t like me back, which was fine, but he told the whole school that I liked him and things got a bit hard for me. From that point, dating wasn’t really a priority, until I met you.”  
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Alec. I really am.”  
“It’s okay. I’m over it. I just don’t want you to treat me any different.”  
“But you are different. And it's a good thing.”

Despite the minor hiccup of the exes conversation, Alec and Magnus actually had a great evening. Neither wanted it to end so when Magnus asked Alec if he wanted to come to his place for one last drink, he happily agreed.  
They may have been completely different but as Alec was about to leave for the night, he realised that it was the last thing he wanted to do. What he wanted to do was end this date properly. And so, he turned away from the door and walked back to Magnus, acting before he could change his mind.  
Magnus reacted immediately to the kiss. It was sweet and innocent. But Alec’s uber texted to say he was waiting in front of the apartment and Alec knew it was time to go.  
“Text me when you get home, Alexander.”  
“Of course. Thanks for tonight. I had a really nice time.”  
“So did I.”  
As Alec sat in the back of the car that was taking him back to his dorm, he couldn’t stop smiling. It had turned out that the date had gone better than he had ever imagined. He would have to thank Simon for asking him to feed his devil of a cat. 

***

The following Friday after the party, Simon had invited Jace over to watch a movie. The house was quiet and peaceful without anyone around. A vast contrast to the past few times they had spent time together. There was a bit of tension in the air. Since being interrupted by Alec and Magnus, Simon and Jace hadn't had a lot of time alone together. Simon had been hoping that by inviting Jace to join him, maybe they could just sit and talk but as was the case with both of them individually finding out about themselves, things very rarely ever went to plan.  
Jace mumbled quietly from under the blanket they were sharing. He hadn't said much all evening.  
"I don't really understand this movie." Simon picked up the case from the arm of the sofa.  
"Me either. The cover looked good but I guess appearances aren't everything." Jace saw his opportunity to tease Simon. He was competitive in nature and sometimes he couldn't help himself. The silence had been driving him mad but with a boyish smile and a few words, he knew he could get things back to normal.  
"Like me then?" He poked Simon's cheek. "All style and no substance."  
What he said didn't have the effect he wanted. Simon moved up next to him, brushing his cheek with a familiar tenderness, catching Jace by surprise.  
"Jace! Don't ever say anything like that! You're gorgeous inside and out." Jace was about to come up with a witty reply but his eyes widened in disbelief instead.  
"You really mean that?" Simon smiled shyly, still slightly in shock.  
"Of course, I do!" Jace looked down. Smudges of red appeared across his cheekbones. Everyone else always saw him as bold and self appreciating but there was something about Simon had just broken down his barriers when he had come crashing into his life. He was starting to allow himself to be vulnerable and while it was frightening, Jace was finding that he was okay with opening his heart and letting Simon in.  
"Simon, about the other day…" Simon put his fingers on Jace’s lips.  
"Shh. We're good, okay?" Jace shook his head.  
"No, I was going to say that I was really enjoying myself until we were interrupted…" Simon laughed quietly, his thumb brushing over Jace’s cheek. His voice lowered and he looked at Jace’s lips as he spoke.  
"I was too. I know this is all very new but you don't have to worry while we're here, okay? Everything is at your pace and there's no chance of being interrupted again." Jace blinked at him, a smile breaking out across his mouth.  
"...It's just us."  
Simon nodded as a look of mischief flashed across his face. "It's just us…"  
Jace pulled the blanket away that had fallen onto both of their laps. Simon's eyes sparkled as he stood up for a second. He climbed over so he was sitting on Jace with his knees either side of Jace’s hips. They looked at each other quietly, Jace taking in every freckle that dotted Simon's nose. Barely visible unless you were lucky enough to be allowed this close to him. Simon looked lovingly at the flash of brown through Jace’s left eye. He was a rarity in every sense of the word. Precious and pure like the unspoken promises between them.  
Simon traced the edge of Jace’s jaw with his thumb, feeling the light stubble that had grown there. Jace’s hands slid up Simon's back in slow and reserved motions, until he finally pressed him forward and brought their lips together.  
It was soft at first; gentle and innocent until they found their rhythm and where they fit together. Jace moved so Simon could lay on his back, leaning over him as both their kisses and their breathing increased in speed and intensity. Jace’s hands shook as he clutched at the front of Simon's shirt. This was so new to him but when he was with Simon, it was like he finally knew where he belonged. Even though neither wanted to skip ahead and rush, they could sense the beautiful future ahead of them. How one day, everything would be flipped on its head with new possibilities of dedication and ways of displaying their love to one another.  
When they were both totally and utterly breathless, Jace was lying over Simon, between his knees. They broke away from one another and as Jace blinked up at Simon, his eyes shone like two fluorescent gems. He chuckled, shaking his head  
"Simon…you make me so happy." Simon blinked back at him, speaking in a low voice.  
"That's what boyfriends are for." It was frightening for even Simon to say the word. It was a risk but that was what they were, wasn't it?  
"Boyfriends… we're- we're boyfriends?"  
Simon beamed, Jace was still lying over him, close enough that they could feel each other's breathing. He'd thought that Jace would look terrified at the prospect but what he actually saw was relief.  
"Yes. I mean it's a Friday night. We just had food together and now we're kissing on my couch?" He laughed softly, meeting Jace’s eyes. "I think we are... Is that okay?"  
Jace’s face lit up.  
"Yes. Yes it is."

*** 

The week they spent together had been everything they had hoped for. Of course, the knowledge that their time together was limited was always in the back of Clary’s mind. Izzy would always notice when Clary’s eyes would grow sad and would remind her to enjoy every minute of the present and not be sad for something that had yet to happen.

Clary woke up that morning, the bed warm next to her where Isabelle lay, an arm around her waist. She took a minute to watch the girl in front of her. She knew Izzy didn’t like it whenever she gotten sad about their time coming to an end but waking up next to her now and knowing that it was the last time she would be doing so, she couldn’t stop the tears that ran down her cheeks.  
New York was her dream. It had been since she was a kid; but she had a second dream that had appeared a couple years ago. To wake up to the rising sun, the woman she loved asleep next to her. She would look down at her, caressing the hair away from her face and kiss her awake. Her lover would wake and tell her that she loved her.  
As she was now looking down at Izzy, she knew that she had found that. They may have only been together for a week but Isabelle was already the girl from her dream. The girl she kissed awake under the glow of the morning sun. The woman she loved.  
She wished she could tell her but she knew that was impossible. It would just be cruel. She was leaving in six hours and she would probably never see Isabelle again.

As Clary was lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice that Izzy was starting to wake up. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the press of soft lips to her shoulder. She turned to the brunette, eyes still half closed from sleep, hair a mess. Clary had never seen her look more beautiful. Izzy knew she had been crying and saw the tears still wet on her face, but Isabelle kissed her, she simply wiped away the tears without a word. They both knew it was their last morning together and that their time together had come to an end.

The pair got out of bed, Izzy going to the kitchen to prepare breakfast as Clary took a quick shower. Once she was done, she leaned against the kitchen wall and admired the view of Izzy rushing around the room, dressed only in her underwear and one a Clary’s t-shirts.  
The morning flew by and soon it was time for the girls to get dressed and for Izzy to drive Clary to the airport. Her mum would be going to New York in a couple of days to help her settle in, and she had said her goodbyes with Simon at his party, so the only person she needed to say goodbye to now was Isabelle.  
They were silent on their way to the airport. They had always had something to say to the other so this was different. When they were ten minutes away, Clary closed her eyes and breathed in the sent of Izzy’s perfume that radiated through the car. 

As they made their way across the airport, they found themselves a couple of meters from the point at which Clary would have to continue alone, leaving Izzy behind. Clary stopped and turned to the girl who she had so easily started to love. Izzy had been so strong, insisting that they only focus on the positive and enjoy the time they had been given, and so Clary was surprised when she turned and saw the silent tears running down her face. She dropped her bags and pulled the other girl into a tight hug. They stood that way, tight in each other's arms as they cried. They cried at the joy at having met. They cried at the love of the time they had spent together and finally, they cried at the pain of the idea of now having to say goodbye to each other.  
Izzy pulled away first, her hands on either side of Clary’s tear marked face.  
“I am so thankful that I met you, Clarissa Fray. You were a beautiful light in my life and even if our time has to come to an end, I am thankful for the chance I have had to know you, to hold you, to love you. We may have only had a week but it has been the best week of my life and I will remember it forever... remember you forever.”  
“Isabelle Lightwood, you have lit up my world. Thank you for one perfect week. Thank you for pushing me to enjoy every minute we had together and thank you for letting me love you.”  
Clary’s flight was called to board and they both knew that they had minutes left together.  
“Thank you for letting me love you back, Clary. I love you so much and I know that this is not the end. You will do so many amazing things. I can’t wait to watch all your dreams come through and for the whole world to see just how amazing you are. And as for us, this isn’t goodbye. We will meet again. I can feel it.”  
Finally, the time had come and Clary had to walk away. One last kiss and a whispered confession of love before she turned and walked towards her future, not daring to look back, her lips still wet from both her tears and Izzy’s kiss. 

*** 5 years later ***

Izzy stared out at the view of the sun setting behind the Eiffel tower. She felt like she was living in a scene from the movie. Paris had always been her dream city to visit but life had gotten in the way and she had never been able to make the trip. Now as she sat at an outdoors table at the Café de l’Homme, she was glad she had waited so long to see the city.  
She had half an hour before she had to be back at the hotel to prepare for dinner, but her coffee was empty and she wanted to be able to wander around the city a bit before returning. She paid for her drink and made her way out into the street. They had been here for a week and flew back home tomorrow. She had seen all of the main tourist attractions and now just wanted to feel the vibe of the city. Enjoy the late afternoon sun that shone on her long black hair. She wandered the quiet streets. She knew the general direction her hotel was in and made her way in that direction without paying too much attention to where she was going. She was simply happy to be here. Paris had been amazing. She was wearing her favourite red dress and she hoped that tonight, a new chapter of her life would be starting. 

She was admiring the beautifully old buildings when there was a flash of red against the grey stone, catching her attention.  
It had been years since she had seen that particular shade of red; the sun shining in it so that it reflected like the light of a burning fire. Her eyes automatically searched the crowd for the kind eyes and angelic face she knew went with the hair.  
There she was...Her hair was different; the bangs framing her face perfectly and the clothes as beautiful as the designs she loved to paint. They had both changed but Izzy would still recognise Clary anywhere.  
They eyes met and both girls smiled. Despite their parting and the time that had passed since then, their week was still a fond memory for both of them.  
The crowd moved and Clary disappeared behind a wall of black. Izzy thought about crossing the street and trying to find her but she knew that she wouldn’t. That one last look had been enough. This way, she could imagine Clary achieving all of the dreams she had once told her about. That she had set the art world ablaze, moving to Paris to live out all her dreams in the city they both loved. Yes, it was better this way. She would always be thankful for the time they had had together and for one last glimpse across the streets of Paris, but that was all they would ever had. Clary was living her best life and Izzy needed to go back to her hotel room and get ready for the most important date of her life. The ring box in her pocket was a comforting weight as she slipped her hand into her pocket to caress her fingers over the soft velvet of the box. 

She arrived back at her hotel and Maia was waiting at the door of their room to kiss her.  
“How was your walk? I was worried you would be late for dinner tonight.”  
“It was amazing! I had the best coffee and saw an old friend across the street. And don’t worry. I was never going to be late for tonight. You will see that I have the perfect evening planned.”  
As she finished applying her red lipstick and fixed her hair, she couldn’t wait for the evening to be over. She couldn't wait to get down on one knee and ask Maia to be her wife. 

*** 10 years later *** 

As Elaine checked the house over one last time, to make sure nothing was out of place, she felt a warm hand on her back. Turning her head, she pressed a kiss to Asmodeus’ cheek.  
They had both gone through a lot, but they had fought their fights and emerged the other side. Stronger than ever.  
The two had met when Simon and Magnus were still living at home but neither of them had been ready for anything romantic at that point in their lives.  
After Magnus had left home for university, Asmodeus had found himself alone in an empty house. The realisation had come when he was taking down some stuff that Magnus had left laying around up to the attic. There he had found all of the boxes with Amara’s belonging that he had hidden away after she had abandoned them. Being once again confronted with those memories, seeing the pictures of Amara laughing with her co-workers, standing a little too close to men that he now knew she had been sleeping with back then, he couldn’t ignore what she had done. For years after she had left, he had been stuck on the good moments, on what he had lost. He had never realised what he had gained with her gone.  
Carrying an album of photos that had been taken during the first year of Magnus’ life, he went back downstairs and searched her name on the computer.  
He didn’t know how long he had been staring at the screen when it hit him that he would have to tell Magnus. He knew that his son barely remembered his mother... but he still had a right to know.  
“Amara Thomson. Deceased at the age of thirty two. Involved in a head on collision while driving under the influence of alcohol."  
The article was short. No photos. No comments from her loved ones. He wondered if she had any. If she had found a new life after leaving them.  
From that day on, Asmodeus slowly returned to the world of the living. He had also decided to start therapy and that was where he met Elaine once again.  
She had been doing much better since her husband's passing and was now eight years sober.  
Their children knew that they had started dating and hadn’t had any problem with it. They were both happy that their parents were happy. The year previously, during their first holiday as a family, Asmodeus and Elaine had gotten married in a quiet ceremony with only Magnus, Simon and Becky as guests. Asmodeus had moved into the Lewis house; selling his with Magnus’ reassurance that home wasn’t the place that he had grown up in but rather wherever he was with the people that he loved. 

A car pulled up in front of the house and Elaine rushed to open the door as Simon, Jace, Magnus and Alec climbed out of the car. Elaine and Asmodeus hugged their children as Jace and Alec hung back, exchanging nervous glances at meeting the in-laws for the first time. Their fear was unfounded though when Elaine pulled Jace into a tight hug and Asmodeus shook Alec’s hand. 

Dinner went by without incident; Jace in love with Elaine’s cooking and eating enough for an army. Becky was having spending Christmas with her husband and their one year old daughter. They would be joining them on boxing day.  
After a massive amount of food and a few too many drinks between them (minus Elaine), the group moved to the living room. Asmodeus and Elaine sat together on one couch. Jace and Simon took the other and Alec sat in the armchair with a drunk Magnus clinging onto him and refusing to sit anywhere else other than his boyfriend’s lap. This of course caused more than a couple of laughs among the group and some pictures that Magnus would definitely be pissed at in the morning. As they continued talking, Magnus fell asleep in Alec’s lap. Alec simply arranged him so that he could sit more comfortably. Jace was slowly drifting asleep with his head on Simon’s lap. Silent as the boy absently ran his fingers through Jace’s hair and talked quietly with Asmodeus, Alec and his mum.  
When Elaine also started to yawn, the group decided it was time for them to call it a night.

Magnus awoke just a couple of hours later; to a dark room. Alec was snoring next to him and he assumed that the man had carried him to bed after he had fallen asleep downstairs.  
Magnus' mouth was extremely dry and he decided to go get a drink from the fridge. He was careful not to wake Alec and made his way towards the kitchen. On his way, however, he was distracted by the outside light that was shining on the patio. Forgetting about getting a drink, he made his way to see who was sitting in one of the chairs and looking at the sky.  
He sat down next to Simon quietly. Simon turned his head to see who had joined him before looking back up at the sky.  
“I hope I didn’t wake you... Just wanted to get some air.”  
“No, of course not. I was just getting a drink. Do you mind if I just sit with you for a couple of minutes? It is so peaceful out here.”  
“Yeah, of course.”  
The two sat in silence; staring up at the clear winter sky. They had made an effort to spend more time together since they had started dating the Lightwood boys but it wasn’t often that they just sat his silence. Just the two of them.  
“I read the other day that when a door closes, a window opens... It reminded me of us meeting.” Simon continued to stare at the sky as he spoke but turned his head when he heard his friend chuckle.  
“I’m pretty sure the actual saying is: When one door opens, another door opens. But I think I prefer your version. I’m glad we met when we did. Thank you for being in that park that afternoon and for being my friend.”  
Simon held out his hand for Magnus to hold. It was something that they used to do to help Magnus realise when he was gripping his arm too hard. Simon would match the pressure that Magnus put on his hand and when Magnus felt the grip on his hand grow too tight, he knew to relax and slow his breathing. It was something he had started doing with Alexander when he was particularly stressed but at this particular moment, he had never been more thankful for the steady pressure against his hand.  
“Thank you for being at that park as well. I don’t think you know how much I needed that hug. That and the ten years of friendship you have given me.”

As the first rays of the rising sun made their way over the horizon, the boys stood and hugged. The new day has begun. In a couple of hours, the mayhem of Christmas day would begin, but for now, it was just them. Two friends who had helped each other through so much and who would continue to have each other's backs for many, many more years to come. 

~THE END~


End file.
